Babylon 5 The Untold Truth
by stormguard
Summary: This will change Earth from a much earlier point in its history and through to present day and into the future. There will still be troubled first contact with the Minbari. Earth wont be walking the path the Vorlons wanted them to and dont support the Vorlons in there great war with there ancient enemies the Shadows. I've just corrected the chapter 2 and 3 problem.
1. Chapter 1

The Bagstaff family had a massive plan to infiltrate all the royal houses of all of the world's leading nations and empires, placing themselves as the Heirs to those kingdoms. The first three empires to fall under the Bagstaff control were the Russian Empire in 1300 AD, in the same year, the Ottoman Empire and then the Mongol Empire also fell and came under Bagstaff control. By the start of the 17th Century the Bagstaff family controlled the French Republic, the Holy Roman Empire, the British Empire, the Portuguese Empire and then the Spanish Empire. This gave the Bagstaffs control of Europe, Africa, Australia, North and South America. This gave them the single largest and most powerful nation the world had ever known to that date when fully combined. By the year 1685 every nation fell under control of the Bagstaff Empire until they merged together in 1910, ending a cold war what had lasted for 215 years. The governments had no idea that the mass producing of military forces was a farce as was the so called 215 year global arms race. The new combined nation was called the Royal Global Earth Alliance and over time, the name was shortened to the Royal Earth Alliance.

Due to the effects of the cold war, technology grew at an alarming rate. With the discovery of steam engines in 1593 they evolved from steam to combustion engines within 65 years. However the combustion engines what was discovered was much more powerful type with a for cleaner smoke being made and it was a very economical system than the ones they failed to get to work. During this time wind power was becoming more and more standard in factory's producing cheap free power. The cold war brought a bought amazing discoveries aimed for military use but was never used in there military versions. Splitting of the atom for the planned atom bombs, advancing the atom bomb into the nuclear bomb, later warheads for missiles short, medium, long and intercontinental missiles and rockets.

The technologies blossomed in a faster way with every nation catching up all the time to the nation that invented the original design some nations decided to jump ahead and make there own true inventions. Nuclear power gave way to fusion power what made it possible to create energy weapons more common place. With aircraft came the STOVL ability aircraft the basic range version using turbofans to lift the aircraft at super sonic speeds. The main remaining technology to be invented during the cold war period the very impressive anti gravity engines. This gave way to every nation within years mass producing there fling fortress range of floating gun platforms.

The Global Empires on Earth meeting was closed to all but the members of the Royal Houses who was sent. The goal of the meeting was to end the cold war as there Governments were informed but this meeting had another goal and this was to Merge all of them together to form a single power on Earth.

They all knew that the main central family was that of The British Empire but this was for these Bagstaffs a chance to catch up on all the secrets from there Empires. The conquest period of there Empires was used to kill of every rouge cult, group and party that in time could corse problems.

Just prior to the Cold war talks the British Empire launched there latest version of the floating gun platforms. This new breed was the Camelot class flying fortress what made her unique was the ability to actually obtain orbit around the Earth above Earths outer atmosphere.

After days of hard work are it seemed hard work but it was perfectly scripted and choreographed to make it look and sound like a heated debate was on going. After 15 days of talks they sent word that there has been an out come and for all the global presses to assemble out side for a joint statement what would be read by Emperor Khan the representative of the Mongol Empire.

We are here today in this fine nation to bring an end to this Cold War we are now in. It has lasted for over 215 years and its time it ends and it ends today. The Emperor Khan raised his arms at his fellow monarchs and smiled and looked back to the crowed. What I mean by that is the birth of a single new nation under the control of a single leader. Today with the power given to us to end this cold war by any means by our Governments has paid of its took many days of debates between us to see who had the logical right to lead. So the choice went in the end to a voting system were the last Monarch would lead us. The rest will become Crowned Princes of there former Empires but they will sit on the new Joint Privy Council. I'm also glad today that I was given this honour to inform everyone that the Monarch of Earth and Military commander in chief is His Majesty King William Henry Bagstaff king of the newly renamed Global Royal Earth Alliance All hail the king long, live king Bagstaff.

William Henry Bagstaff walked down the steps to the podium walking past the now Crowned Prince Khan and raised his arms to get the crowds attention. We gathered today to change the way we all live and that we have done now is the time to heal the wounds of the past and grow and multiply spread our wings and test the limits of the human minds. We are so honoured to have been chosen by so many to this impressive new role but we will never fail and will always set our ears looking forward. King Bagstaff then bowed to the crowed and started to walk away as his aide walked over to the podium to answer questions from the reporters waiting below.

The Global Earth Alliance had advanced in technology during the 215 year cold war now combining all that knowledge and technology they were setting up the Earth space centre by 1915. By 1920 they had tested and launched rockets into outer space and deploying artificial satellites into orbit of the Earth and the following year launching unmanned satellites towards Earths moon and Mars. As it became standard practice once the artificial satellites were proven to have a military ability they started to launched military defence satellites and military observation satellites into orbit and into the solar system in general.

Due to the Bagstaff's and there vast family empire they were able to use there combined family's great wealth to buy out as many companies as they could during the great 1820s stock crash and doing so saved many business and banks from going under. By the 1860s the Bagstaff family owned 97.3% of all the worlds business. They developed radio in the early part of the 1800s in the British Empire and set up a company around it called the BBC. The public name meant British Broadcasting Company but its true name was Bagstaff Broadcasting Company.

Antony Graeme Mollari Bagstaff born 22 July 1912. PRINCE Antony was born with a genetic disease what aged his body, muscles, organs and brain how ever his brain was still that of a child. Thanks to this disease he learned fast and his brain developed along with it. It was Antony's brain development that showed him the thoughts of others and that included his Godfather Count Mollari of the Centauri Republic and it showed him that he was a very powerful Technomadge. From another planet who was expelled from his him world and its Republic because of him aiding there slaves another race called Narns.

In January 1913 his parents and godfather created a cryo chamber for Antony even though they had stopped him ageing so fast they needed time to heal the hyper ageing process his body had gone through. Before placing Antony into the cryo chamber Mollari had a telepathic flash of a vision his godson Antony was having. This flash of memory was a vision of the distance future were he saw the Dilgar scientist discovering her anti-agapic which Mollari recreated using a sample of Antony's DNA from which he made a clone and allowed it to fully grow. So he could gain the precise parts and samples he needed for the anti agapic. The cure that Mollari had given the young Prince wasn't a cure as originally thought but it made way to form a new type of nanite within the princes body this type of nanite was an organic nanite. This new evolution of the nanites was a leap beyond there old mechanical type. It was for superior to his godfathers inorganic Nanite what had limited ability and could multiply through reproduction not replication. With His parents and his godfather Mollari placing him into the cryo unit helped to strengthen his Nanites and give them time and the ability to adjust to his body while at the same time keeping Antony's brain up to date on all the things that was going on around him.

Cloning technology and Nanite technology for Teraforming of the deserts on the Earth of which they helped to change the conditions on Earth and of the other planets and moons into a perfect liveable environment for the human race. To help increase the Earths population and for the colonization of the newly created worlds in the Sol system. With the aid of cloning and genetic engineering and the artificial incubator the Bagstaff's had increased the Earths population to nearly 500 billon of which most of them are in cryo chambers. By the time young Antony came out of the cryo chamber in 1937 Mollari was very tired of his life. All he wanted to do was pass all of his knowledge onto his godson especially now as his parents were both on the verge of death and he was the Heir Apparent to the Global Earth Alliance. By 1939 the cryo chambers were beginning to open up and sending those people to new locations on Earth and through out the Sol system.

On the Coronation day of King Antony in 1939. His speech to the Imperial House of Lords and the Senate he declared the stars were there for the human race to explorer and explorer and colonizes them we shall. For all the days that I have thanks to the disease that it is now cured I will work to expand the human race to the levels of our dreams. For we are the children of the stars and Earth will stay hidden from those out there till the children of Earth have at least grown to its young adult hood. Capable of standing on our own feet and never shall we be slaves to those if any out beyond the stars.

His speech continued to cover many topics from employment to education to health care what would be free for all but the rich to the Teraforming programs that has been started and those for the distant future. Plus the creation of a dedicated space fleet for defence, escort, science, exploration and transport role. The new navy would be called Earth Force Navy.

Research and development of Earths Hyperspace Technology started straight away and in the year 1943 they tested the first hyperspace opening (with the discovery of a submerged Vree saucer in 1938). The saucer had a fully working jump drive, gravimetric propulsion system and anti-matter reactor all fully working plus there full weapon load. They also discovered other ships on Earth as well from many races the likes of Drakh Mother ship and 3 Carriers all having full hangers and fully working weapons systems on board, A third space fighter, an Abbai cruiser, an Hyach cruiser, a Vorlon fighter, a Vorlon transport, a Shadow fighter and a Shadow scout ship all were fully intact with all their systems working sensors, computers, weapons, defences and engines. The first phase of the tests were proven to be a massive success as they sent out over 3000 automated ships to certain star systems with the goal of beginning the starting phase of the Teraforming project. These locations remained a guarded secret as it would look strange how they knew the location of so many star systems.

Sights of the automated hyperspace test programme locations. 1st. Wolf system, 2nd Proxima system, 3rd Cooke system, 4th Regula system, 5th Sirius system and 6th Orion system. These systems were giving 500 ships to each system to make sure the Teraforming projects were finished faster. They also carried components to create small orbital space stations for the aid of colony expansion and colony defence.

After hearing back via automated com channels from the remote Teraforming ships The Earth Government and King Antony all decided to start work on the next phase a manned mission to hyper space. However His Royal Highness demanded the right to command the first hyperspace manned mission. However this had to go in front of the entire House of Lords and The Imperial Senate House. So for this His Royal Highness with the leading starship designers of Earth Alliance started working on making the alterations to the chosen classes of ships to take part in the manned hyperspace test.

Using techno-mage translators and decryption computers King Antony decrypted the locations of all the majour powers and minor power planets. Plus planets that would make expansion of the Earth Alliance faster and making it a stronger power for the goal of inter stellar peace. Sol system with the aid of genetic cloning aided the growth in population but the population growth was classed as orphans and were educated at military schools all around the earth and there colonies.

First space ships to be built would be in the year 1940 they would be designed to transport colonists to and from Earth and its colonies. There primary goal to transport equipment, supplies and colonists safely. Mass production of automated starship lines started straight away to help with the colony expansion programmes. A rare and powerful speech that went through Parliament and the Senate in which they jointly decreed that there would be building and paying for 60,000 Columbus class long range exploration vessels and a similar number of shark class midrange exploration vessels.

Combat vessels would soon to follow the production of the first waves of civilian vessels.(Sol expansion period would last till 2050). Then the start of Earth Alliances galaxy expansion program will start in small phases at first and be built in limited numbers. While expanding the Earth Alliance in the Sol system Earths Parliament ordering construction of large fleet yards. With these when running at full production would start to mass produce all the warships that would be needed to start. There growth burst that Earth needed and the use of replication technology reducing construction speeds to nearly 5% of what it would normally take.

His Majesty King Antony decided he had to be apart of the test programme to test the hyper space window generators as he did most of the work on the programme. He designed his very own flag ship for this test mission. He named his thrown ship the EAS Thrown Ship 1 the thrown ship was ready by the year 1949 as was his full escort fleet of 6 Columbus class long range explorer ships. The Thrown Ship was massive and that was an understatement its length was over 859.4km, width 693.8km and depth 652.9 km. Making it a threat in its own right having more fire power then even The Kirishic Lordships warships could handle.

The first hyperspace test was set to start in 1955 giving over 10 years of Teraforming on each of the 6 systems that had the automated hyperspace test ships in them. However the manned mission didn't go easily as His Royal Highness Antony thought and his military advisers and the head of the Royal Senate and the head of The house of lords. The mission didn't go as smoothly as everyone had hoped something majour had gone wrong. There was an imbalance in the hyperspace vortex engine system. The 600 strong Royal test ships and escorts reported on entering into hyperspace an inversion in the vortex engines. This imbalance could cause the ships to explode on re-entering to normal space.

King Antony was shocked by the increase in his Psi ability to the point he could hear the minds of very person and creature in hyperspace and in normal space. He touched the minds of all the races he had knowledge of and he was able to communicate with a telepathic race called Vree who knew his race and wished him welcome to the great galactic public. Within minutes of sensing the Vree they had sent a ship to introduce them selves formally to the human race.

"Your Majesty we are picking up some kind of moving object coming closer to us reported the communications office lieutenant commander Hawk. Admiral Von-der-tan walked out of her duty office and asked could that object heading to us is that cause of the instability. The bridge engineer looked at her 'No ma'am that ship can't be causing the imbalance we met when we entered Hyper Space answered Lieutenant Steamer. "Well if not them then who" replied Von-der-tan more angrily. His Majesty stood up and looked at the com officer "Get me fleet if you please''.

"Fleet this is King Antony the vessel approaching us means no harm it's from a race of pure telepaths. They are called Vree and yes we are new to space compared to them they have already said they can't help us as our equipment is to alien to them. But they know our race and have looked in us many times and they never thought that we were this close to entering the stars but they wish to welcome us freely to the Galactic lanes. He again looked at Von-der-tan but this time answered to the fleet what was on everyone's minds. "Fleet I would like to inform you that the people who did this to us had no option they were under the control of a servant of the Shadows. So please allow me to see if I can break the hold these Drakh have on them end fleet wide".

"Security I want these people arrested now don't allow anyone to get in your way. They are the only ones under Drakh controlâ€ . Handing a data pad to the security officer on duty, "yes Admiral you have a question for me but to answer it before you ask it to prove my point my own Telepathic abilities have grown quiet considerably since entering hyperspace Admiral". She froze in her stride as she realised that she was thinking just that and she never gave it a thought about His Majesties abilities.

"Bridge I'm returning to my quarters to relax and close my mind down so if I'm needed please come and knock at my door good night every one". His majesty then walked to the lift door and entered it and when it closed it started its magnetic motors and moved of. Admiral Von-der-tan now recovered from her shock looked at the bridge crew "We will move on to first test jump site and lets hope the engineering staff have worked out that instability problem set engines for best speed inform the fleet".

On entering his private chambers he wanted to check the minds of the minds of those who had been under Drakh control. He touched all 13 minds at the same moment and began draining the knowledge from there controllers minds. The Drakh's in question tried to break there link to there symbiotic controllers but His Majesties will was far stronger and knocked them all to sleep. "Now Drakh you will tell me what I want to know and you will forget that you and I have all had this nice telepathic chat. Your masters the Shadows are they still sleeping". "Yes our great and powerful masters will return and they will take revenge upon you for what your doing now" said the most senior Drakh Sub Councillor Shedrok. "So your masters fear me then why do the fear little old me" taunted the King. "You're the strongest mind walker to ever live stronger than even the revered Lorien" said Shedrok trying to mock the human king. "So who is this Lorien then Shedrok "he is the oldest of the old he is older than time our master's say he is beyond time". This time it wasn't Shedrok but another Drakh who spoke. His tonne changed to laughter soon you will die along with us. Sensing danger to his life he broke the telepathic link just in time as he knows the Drakh had all killed them selves.

After resting for several hours in which he got no more then 90 minutes sleep. He wanted to test out what these Drakh had said, as the Kirishic Lords had said the self and same thing regarding him. But on pushing his ability harder and further he touched another telepathic race however this one seemed warier of him they called them selves Vorlon's and they seemed a different kind of life form. They tried to close there mind to him but one stepped out of the mist to talk to him. "On my world my name is Antony I'm the monarch of my species my formal title is King Antony" said Antony to the Vorlon. "My name is Kosh and I have been to your world many times in my life I thought like so many others you would have burnt out by now". "Then Kosh your people think we are warrior's to fight the great battles" Said King Antony while testing this Kosh. "There is always a time to fight and a time grow it's our time to grow and soon your time to fight" replied Kosh not raising to the bait from Antony.

"So Kosh tell me what you can about a race called Shadows and a Lorien for the longest of moments the Vorlon's mind became heavily defensive. "So child how doses one so young know the name Lorien and the name of the Shadows" replied Kosh. "Well a race called Drakh has tried to kill me on several occasions and it really gets to them that they can't kill me". Explained his Majesty. "Now my child its time for you to start your journey as your circle now starts we will see you again we will look for you when the time is right" said Kosh. As soon as Kosh had finished his sentence he started to fade away from Antony mental touch.

Antony sat in his mediation chamber going over all the flashes of information he managed to get his mind onto before he lost the telepathic link. Even the Vorlon reactions to the names in which he had flung at them they all got reaction but none more than from the word Lorien. This figure or figures or even alliance could be something to look into. He never moved from were he was sitting and spoke to the computer "computer activate and search all records of planned archaeology digs near the no go area of Z'ha'dum". The computer replied stating "the only one starting or under way is on the Planet Ikaria what started 3 weeks ago". "Thank you computer that's all" and he returned to his mediations hoping he could find another race to talk to and learn from.

"Ma'am we have reached the test location of the jump programme should we return to normal space and send a signal to Earth" asked Captain Crux the senior sensor officer. "Yes please do" replied Yetta. "Commander Lennon please transmit a message to Earth regarding our engine problems and we will have Axillaries ready to use in a few days" replied Yetta.

At this point His Majesty walked on to the bridge in his State Uniform. "So what's the sensors got to say regarding this area of space Captain" asked His Majesty. "Well Sire we have picked up a populated star system and it looks like they are in the early stages of space travel. "We most come out of hyperspace soon so we can make the return journey as we cant come back with a failure are it will set us all back" stated His Majesty.

"You heard His Majesty" ordered Admiral Von-der-tan. "Get us back to normal space as fast as possible we wont stay long just long enough to make detailed scans of there customs and language so we can return with a proper team of diplomats to make first contact" ordered Yetta. "Once we drop out of hyperspace deploy the senor probes have them run at maximum stealth and monitor them for any mention of strange objects or sightings in the night skies. You all know the drill people so lets get to it everyone" ordered His Majesty.

"Admiral we have come out at maximum range for our sensors we have already gathered a lot of information and sir they some how have Earth TV shows on that planet. The name of the planet is Brakis and they call them selves Brakiri" said Commander Heinzmah. "Well standby to jump to hyperspace and mark this system for follow up. I wish to have a diplomatic team here within a month after we get home and that to the report to Earth. If my ship and escort are ready please activate vortex engines now and once in hyperspace maximum speed to Earth" ordered His Majesty.

While back at Earth Command tracking stations "please tell me someone that we haven't just lost the king and his person guard to some freak accident". Commodore Steven Horner the head of Orbital tracking command couldn't take his eyes of the sensor information he was getting from the jump vortex. He stood up and looked around the room and went to the intercom button and spoke into it asking "what had just happened with that vortex people His Majesty was on that test flights now get me everything we have to date. Link up with every other automated tracking system what's been deployed by the automated ships while testing hyperspace and charting it people and I want that information yesterday".

His Majesty walked on to the bridge in his military uniform smiling like he never worn it before. "Now Com please tell me that Earth has been tracking us and you have kept them up to date with our journey". "Yes your Majesty Earth have been informed and they are now tracking us they are some what angry that they lost us". "They lost us commander that's a laugh we lost our selves for a time there. But soon we will be home and we can all spend time with our families and friends once more". "Helm has engineering cleared us to use the vortex generators" asked Admiral Von-der-tan. "Yes Admiral they have cleared us for vortex use". "Then helm please return us to normal space and set for geostationary orbit above London".

When they returned to normal space it was 14 days late but all hands were in full health some even healthier than the day they set out for the test mission. They showed a greater understanding of there group like they had shared every storey they had ever known. The crew all seemed closer and they all shared stories of creatures what live in hyperspace and they described them close to jelly fish and squids. There speed, size and if ships approached them they defended them selves with some form of high energy weapons.

(Regarding the manned test flight this will be a storey within the storey what will be told last).

His Royal Highness and his escort fleet returned back to Earth 14 days late and on exiting from hyperspace to normal space Vice Admiral Yetta Von-der-tan Hailed Earth dome using Black secure channel to speak to Admiral Robert Mitchell. The main view screen in her office activated Yetta spoke first saying "Morning Robert sorry for waking you up like this but there's something you have to be informed about. Person or persons have tried to blow the EAS Thrown Ship up and the entire fleet". Fleet Admiral Robert Mitchell Head of Earth Force Security replied saying "You have to be joking Yetta who are what would want to do that specially with His Majesty on board. Yetta replied back "Admiral I'm sorry to have to put it so plainly he was the primary target the people who wanted him dead didn't care about collateral damage all they wanted was him dead. Robert was taken aback by that comment and after he regained his normal steady composure he replied saying "Calm down Yetta before you do your self some harm and get me into bother with the Royal House". Yetta smiled back at Robert, then replied with "His Royal Highness King Antony has put his own man on the job Erik Connery he's the one who turned down a promotion to head of naval intelligence so he could remain as head of security to King Antony. Those two have a strange and wired friendship and Erik is taking this very personally Robert".

They both continued to chat for best part of half an hour all the time Yetta refused to make a report on anything regarding the incident. But Yetta had sent Robert and the entire admiralty, Senate and House of Lords regarding the success of her mission to test not just one type of hyper drive engine but two types. They both have returned with a fully successful testing and retesting under harsh environments due to the sabotaging of there systems before deporting on the test missions.

Yetta his majesty saved Erik from a building that was testing a new type of weapon system back then it was new but now it's very standard. The prototype plasma cannons one exploded and trapped them both in Erik's office. His Majesty was there on a toured inspection and Erik was in charge of the military side of it and was a Captain just promoted as well. The rest I'm going to tell you is of high security Yetta. The explosion that trapped them had in fact caved the room in around them and Erik was severally injured and needed blood. When they were finally rescued His Majesty had stopped Erik bleeding to death and had given him a lot of his own blood to keep him alive. Since then Erik will be lucky if he's aged a day and a rare blood disorder was cured and with that gone he was cleared for his first space command.

**Operation Expansion Report**.

**Wolf Star System **Teraforming project complete and gravity realignment complete now fully ready for colonization with a start up population limit of 7.5 billion with a maximum system population of 175 billion.

Production of the Alliances largest ship yard in the Earth Alliance. Having the ability to produce more ships than the entire alliance combined. The fleet yard was 15% complete and still capable of producing 40,000 ships.

Construction work on 36 Orion trade variant class stations fully complete and with a further 10 in the last few days of construction and with the last 4 only weeks away from being complete. With crews taking out of cryo chambers and supplies been sent to them.

Construction of all 10 Orion Military variant class stations were up and running and fully manned from the crews of the ships in task force and with extra personal from cryo chambers to aide in increased military presence.

**Proxima Star System**. Teraforming project complete and gravity realignment complete now fully ready for colonization with a start up population limit of 12.5 billion with a maximum system population 300 billion.

Construction work on 36 Orion trade variant class stations fully complete and with a further 10 in the last few days of construction and with the last 4 only weeks away from being complete. With crews taking out of cryo chambers and supplies been sent to them.

Construction of all 10 Orion Military variant class stations were up and running and fully manned from the crews of the ships in task force and with extra personal from cryo chambers to aide in increased military presence.

**Cook Star System**. Teraforming project complete and gravity realignment complete now fully ready for colonization with a start up population limit of 75 billion with a maximum system population of 200 billion.

Construction work on 36 Orion trade variant class stations fully complete and with a further 10 in the last few days of construction and with the last 4 only weeks away from being complete. With crews taking out of cryo chambers and supplies been sent to them.

Construction of all 10 Orion Military variant class stations were up and running and fully manned from the crews of the ships in task force and with extra personal from cryo chambers to aide in increased military presence.

**Regula Star System**. Teraforming project complete and gravity realignment complete now fully ready for colonization with a start up population limit of 7.5 billion with a maximum system population of 187 billion.

Construction work on 36 Orion trade variant class stations fully complete and with a further 10 in the last few days of construction and with the last 4 only weeks away from being complete. With crews taking out of cryo chambers and supplies been sent to them.

Construction of all 20 Orion Military variant class stations were up and running and fully manned from the crews of the ships in task force and with extra personal from cryo chambers to aide in increased military presence.

**Sirius Star System**. Teraforming project complete and gravity realignment complete now fully ready for colonization with a start up population limit of 7.5 billion with a maximum system population of 215 billion.

Construction work on 36 Orion trade variant class stations fully complete and with a further 10 in the last few days of construction and with the last 4 only weeks away from being complete. With crews taking out of cryo chambers and supplies been sent to them.

Construction of all 20 Orion Military variant class stations were up and running and fully manned from the crews of the ships in task force and with extra personal from cryo chambers to aide in increased military presence.

**Orion Star System**. Teraforming project complete and gravity realignment complete now fully ready for colonization with a start up population limit of 7.5 billion with a maximum system population of 238 billion.

Construction work on 36 Orion trade variant class stations fully complete and with a further 10 in the last few days of construction and with the last 4 only weeks away from being complete. With crews taking out of cryo chambers and supplies been sent to them.

Construction of all 20 Orion Military variant class stations were up and running and fully manned from the crews of the ships in task force and with extra personal from cryo chambers to aide in increased military presence.

Finally we came across a system that is fully aware of human kind. They have for some time been receiving television broadcast signals from Earth. So for this reason I would like to strongly advise with full support from His Majesty that we send a diplomatic team there straight away. The goal of that will be to allow them full membership into the Earth Alliance as a protectorate state what they govern them selves. This system's called BRAKIS and the people are called Brakiri.

As theorised by His Royal Highness King Antony has proven that the Orion class station while they are a good size they don't have the size are strength for what is needed. The redundant plan for constructing several larger stations has begun. Construction work was started on 3 Mauryan class military space stations. Even with replication technology they were still under construction in all 6 star systems, as was the 6 Mauryan class trade variant stations in all 6 systems were also under construction. When fully operational they would take on the main trade and defence roll while the Orion class would take up a more supportive roll.

Construction work has also started in each of the 6 systems as planned on the fleet construction yards each system will at the start have enough ship yard space to start working on 3 entire fleets and service another 2 fleets.

**END REPORT**. **Operation Expansion**.

**VICE ADMIRAL YETTA VON-DER-TAN**

**FLAG COMMANDING OFFICER E.A.S THROWN SHIP**.

Just after sending an automated construction and teraforming force to Beta 9 and sector 49 the transport fleets sending supplies that couldn't be replicated. That's when the raids started to happen after running across an unknown vessel in hyperspace. The transport that picked up the unknown vessel in hyperspace was the civilian transport Homer was the largest civilian owned transports in Earth Alliance. It was so large that it was allowed to carry its very own defence grid what to some would be classed as over kill. The captain of the Homer was ex military and had the ship running to his military back ground standard.

"Computer please tell me that we ran covert sensor scans of that unknown ship". "Yes Commodore Homer I started the scans of the unknown target vessel before you were made aware of its location". "Who's been at the computer's interface again and changing its voice and tonne settings to sound like my ex wife again". "Computer would our weapons be strong enough against that ship in battle". "Well yes Commodore my weapons systems would be more thane a match but with the crew what operate my systems I doubt we would last two minutes". "I'll dock a month's wages from the person or person's who did this".

Homer walked over to a command screen and set it to verbal interface only. "So computer who in your own interest is the most hard working crew member and who gives the ship all the attention it needs". The computer replied with "crewman fisher". "Bridge to crewmen fisher please report to the ships main A.I. interface and reset all the ships setting to my settings now or that docking hatch if I remember correctly needs over hauling due to it opening all the time catch my meaning crewman Fisher". "Bridge this is Fisher I'm on my way there now".

"How many fighters do we have on board are did we leave them with our tenders for extra defence there" asked Homer. "Sir we left all the fighters and ammo for them at the supply tenders as you ordered". "It's ok Hawks I was thinking allowed but you confirmed what I was thinking". "Homer you can't be worried about an unknown ship". "Hawks I'm worried about a warship that's sitting just of these vortex gates beacons and there has been missing shipping in this area that's why my firm's been brought in". "So Homer what you saying the brass jockey's back home are sending us in to a trap So we are nothing more than bait to tease these raiders into an open attack". "Well Hawks looks like you got the right posting you hit the nail right on its head there son".

"Our job Hawks is to get the information the brass needs and to keep the flow of materials to the front until the military can send heavier warships and stronger transports here". "Fletch get me Belt Alliance HQ". "I'm not its owner for nothing are I should say part owner". "Agh yes Linda when Sharpie comes in ask him to prep convoys for anti raider activity and pass that on to the local Military liaison officer and thanks Linda".

"What heavy ships do I have running in this area just incase the area incase it goes sourer fast Linda". "Well Homer we have twelve Fort class patrol frigates and sixty Alexei class patrol cutters and four Avenger class patrol carriers". "Mind you Homer we do have several hundred Homer class transports in the area as well but they are protecting Shamrock Outpost but that's everything".

"That's great that's more then enough to get there interest in us people" said Homer. "Linda what drone ships do we have ready I hate to waist money but this operation has so much credits involved we will be rich like you have no idea". "We have fifteen and they all have that quantum sixty for jump gate constructionâ€ said Linda.

"Sir we are approaching vortex location point for safe return to normal space for Beta 9 sir" said Tinman the sensor officer. His strange nick name was due to him having a metal arm and leg what he lost during his GROPOS training days. "Homer to all hands prepares for transit to normal space and have all weapons at the ready just incase people homer out".

"Sir Beta 9 command welcomes us to system and giving us a priority approach vector to the stations". "People is it me are does it look a little crazy the weapons platforms are all charged. Helm maximum speed now and hail the Beta 9 C'N'C tell them we have detailed scans of an unknown ship in hyperspace close by to hear. Inform me when they get it and when they reply". "Sir they've confirmed the message and would like us to share those files incase it's the pirate ships".

"Earth Transport Homer thank you for your Intel and from what we got from the black boxes that's the class of ship what's been attacking us in this area for weeks now". "There's no need to say thanks for that it's the least we could do for you" replied Homer.

Out along the frontier of Sector 49 the lone heavy cruiser Nimitz was on patrol duty. On the Bridge sat Fleet captain Trevor Arnold. "Sir we are picking up com chatter" reported the com officer a Lieutenant Commander Steven Bell. "Com officer what type of chatter are we getting son" asked Arnold. "Sir it's a distress signal coming in from a civilian Earth transport sir" report Lt. Commander Bell.

"Helm set course to incept that target and give me as much information on that class of ship and try and get a signal to them" ordered Arnold in his normal calming tonne. Arnold looked around to see his first officer Commander Lisa Howard "Lisa it's a shame this didn't happen until we had our upgrades this was our last patrol then port for upgrades". Lisa looked over at Arnold and replied "yeah and life's not fare is it captain" then she laughed.

"Lisa have you seen the specs on those spatial gravimetric torpedoes wow if you haven't you should look them up". "BAe claim they can destroy a single Orion class militarized space station with a single hit" interrupted the weapons office Lieutenant Hammer.

"Patch me ship wide com officer please. Now all hands we can deal with pirates all day long there's been a pirate problems around hear for some time. Keep doing your jobs right that alone will see us through this bridge out".

"Com officer if you will send this to all local out posts on a secure channel have them ready what spare forces they can to assist us and send them all information we have on the transport". The com officer worked at his station for some few minutes "Sir we have received confirmation of receipt of message from all local out posts readying ships to send if we request them".

"Everyone I don't want to alarm you all but the transport that sent the signal is the Queen Elizabeth class Earth Civilian Transport Homer under command of retired Admiral Homer. It's classed as a privateer vessel with a defence grid on par with us and a heavy weapons grid but no missiles" said Arnold.

Commander Howard started typing at her console checking there latest information on the Earth Transport ship Homer. She looked over to Captain Arnold and said "I thought I knew that name that's the Commodores ship right sir". Arnold started to laugh out loud "do you know there's only one person who can't call him that and that's his ex wife as she claimed it was her worst years with him". "So sir what your saying is that if he can't deal with them we will have a hard time to" said Commander Howard.

"CAG, weapons and tactical officer's and yes you too Lisa I want to have a private word with you all in the briefing room in 5 minutes bring the latest on your department's. Helm keeps us heading for the intercept and sensors and com keep your eyes on those screens if you see anything report it ASAP".

On entering the briefing room Arnold informed them to take a seat as they didn't have much time. "So people I want to know if you think we are biting of to much if so say now" said Arnold. Everyone together replied "No sir the Nimitz can handle anything they fling at us". "Wow in unison everyone, now I want fighters ready to launch ASAP, prep all weapons and check the missile tubes, have the weapon lockers opened and medical packs dispersed around the ship" said Arnold. "You have your orders but being prepared for a trap is the first stage in springing it people dismissed everyone you have your orders" said Arnold. Lisa looked back as she walked out the door nodded her agreement of his plans.

They all worked back on the bridge and Arnold took his seat looked towards the helm and said "Mr Rush have we come close enough to return to normal space yet" Mr Rush the helm office looked at his computer displays and replied "In about 1 minute sir" "Reduce speed Mr Rush to standard speed".

Arnold clicked his intercom button on his command chair "Commander Davenport are the engines and reactors secured for battle" enquired Arnold to the chief engineer. "Captain the reactors have been secured and engines will be made secure as we open the vortex window once in safe mode we have 2 minutes to enter normal space" replied Davenport. Arnold clicked the switch on hearing that information.

"Mr Rush activate vortex generators and return us to normal space" ordered Arnold. "Weapons and sensors make ready locate nearest aggressive ship and engage and have our systems linked to the Homer so we don't loose sensors when we return to normal space". "Helm if you please return us now to normal space" ordered Arnold.

As the Jump vortex opened the Sh'Lassan pack leader Shranak opened a channel to his pack. "Pack leader to fleet with draw to safe distance and bring the mass driver cruiser closer for the kill shot". The pack signalled back with a single bleep to confirm his orders. "Pack leader to pack standby to target ship are ships as they emerge from hyper space as there sensors wont get a lock on us straight away and fire at will" said Shranak.

On returning to normal space captain Arnold was shocked to see a well baited trap. "All hands battle stations rig for impacts" Arnold said in his very calming voice to the ship wide intercom. Lieutenant Bashmah was already bringing the main plasma cannons to bear on the nearest target before Arnold had giving him the order.

"Tactical fire on first target to bare" ordered captain Arnold just as the enemy ships started to fire upon the Nimitz. Bashmah was very good at his job he had brought the Neutron cannons to bare on the same target what was getting the plasma cannons attention. "Sir I've got both neutron and plasma cannons firing on the nearest enemy target sir" said Bashmah.

Commander Howard leaned close to captain Arnold and said "Trevor main interceptors are taking out 93% of all in coming volleys at this rate we will be on route home in no time and you were stressing over nothing". Arnold started to shack his head and replied "yes the interceptors are working fine now but what happens if they over heat what they will as those ships are tough to kill".

The sensor officer spoke up a Lieutenant Yamokoa "Sir these attacking ships have started to fire some kind of rail gun round at us but luckily its weaker then ours sir shields have fallen to 79% due to this weapon fire". At this point Commander Howard interrupted "sensors what's that ship and is it carrying an asteroid" ."Yes commander it looks as its used as a weapon and our shields will take one hit and after that we would be dead in space".

Captain Arnold spoke up this time "get my missiles ready to launch and have my fighters engage those other enemy vessels and how long till my reserves are ready to launch and never mind my bombers" said Arnold in an enquiring tone. "Sir bombers are launching now and reserve fighters will be leaving the hanger doors in 30 seconds" said the CAG.

"Lisa take over the fighter and bomber attack while the CAG remains in the hanger incase we need him space side in his fighter" said Arnold.

"Captain I've got the particle cannons fully charged for a joint forward and rear attack sir" said Bashmah with pride. "Excellent there that man I'll put you forward for promotion your dealing with that to calmly" said Arnold. "Bashmah fire all particle weapons forward and aft" ordered Arnold. Commander Howard was looking at her screen and then said "that's 4 of there ships gone including there asteroid firing ships.

Just as Commander Howard had finished that bit of news there was an explosion onboard the Nimitz this time it was serious her missile tubes had taken damage on the port side but in the explosion fused the missile firing system.

"Sir the pack leaders ship is under heavy fire sub commander" said the packs second in command, Commander Dramilik. "In form the remnants of the pack to standby for a jump to hyperspace to regroup and then we counter attack" said Dramilik.

"Sir it looks like there powering there vortex generators" said Lt. Yamokoa. "Well then its not nice to invite us and then run away with us with bill Jam there vortex generators now" ordered Arnold. "Sub Commander hyper space generators have gone of line they are some how jamming the systemsâ€ reported there bridge engineer.

The remaining 4 enemy ships were starting to circle the now damaged Nimitz. "Sir we have an incoming earth force signal its Station Rio there ships will be arriving in about 20 minutes". Lisa started to laugh "make that 3 enemies left and remaining fighters and bombers are pressing remaining 3" said Commander Howard informing everyone.

The Commodore was on the bridge looking at the Nimitz getting kicked like nothing he thought was possible. "Fletch hail the Nimitz and inform them we are on our way full engine burn" said Homer. "All hands this is Homer I'm taking us into this fight I'm not allowing these people to die for us all weapons fire when within range full power to engines" said Homer.

"Your not going to believe this sir the Homer has hailed us but its to badly garbled but they've changed course and there heading our way with all weapons powering up". "Your right I wont believe you but today is a strange day".

"Sir we have the remaining ships in sights and we have a good solid lock" said Lt. Bashmah "Then Lt. please feel free to wipe out all those remaining ships and start to recall our fighter and bombers". "Lt. Commander Bell please get me Admiral Homer for me please and open channel when he's ready". "Arnold that ship of yours looks like its had its teeth ripped a bit there hope the damage is only on the out side" said Homer. "Well Homer they were tougher than what we thought they might have but we needed to test them and thanks for swinging round when you did as it gave us the chance to clean up" said Arnold.

Over the next two years a single expansion task force was launched from every present Earth Alliance system every week. A Expansion task force consisted of three fully automated construction and Teraforming fleets with each fleet having 768 ships in the fleet plus an entire defence fleet of 768 warships for there protection. Each system takes around ten years to fully Teraforming an entire star system and builds all the trade and defence stations that was also needed.

The primary set of systems would be the following seven. Kaplcym, Ross 128, Jericho, Shynet, Deneb, Beta Durani and Tulok. Again luck was on the Earth Alliance side with them sending military forces to each of those systems. Within a week the raids started to happen every time a raid happened every single attacking ship was destroyed and more and more Earth learned about these aggressive races. Earth's Admiralty in conjunction with the King decided to launch four full military fleets into the area but to keep them in hyper space. Knowing full when each system had enough defences to protect them selves as well maintain there missions.

Admiral Howe commanding 3rd fleet and over all mission commander had placed the 9th fleet under command of Admiral Kipling as part of joint task force Alpha. Task force alphas patrol area was to cover the routes from the Ch'lonas system. While Admiral Reader commanding the 9th fleet was task force Betas commanding officer and mission second officer and Admiral Khan commanding officer of the 11th fleet was part of beta task force. With task force Bata covering the routes from the Koulani system.

The two sets of task forces had arranged for all senior officers of the fleet to gather aboard task force actual command ships. They were gathered together to come up with away to patrol there area and while giving enough reserve assistance to the colony task groups if they were needed. After many a debated tactic the battle clacks on sounded informing them the raid was happening now. By the time all the admirals got back to there flagships they had intercepted com chatter from Ross128 Actual informing his command that they had repelled there most vicious attack so for. They also intercepted another more battle sounding message from Beta Durani say This is Admiral Martin fleet actual Beta Durani sector stand down on weapons set patrols to search for enemy patrols but we have repelled there latest wave actual command wishing every one good luck and sweet regards actual out.

Admiral Howe was on black channel to all flagships. Saying well boys and girl's looks like we've been asked to bring back a trophy for them everyone started to laugh. It was Admiral Khans calming young voice everyone heard next demanding to know what gave Admiral Martin permission to break communication black out to either task force. It was another woman spoke this time before anyone else had a chance to speak. Admiral Reader simply said there was zero direct com chatter to us it was sent out to look like he was praising his officers and sending out orders to his other officers in his command zone. Before giving anyone else a chance to rebuke her she simply said so Johnny what's your orders. Admiral Howe burst out laughing at his Christian name being used like that. We have our standing orders we follow the enemy survivors and we repay them for there very nice gift like they most send to all there new neighbours. All a sudden every admiral was saying at the same moment all ahead full, full intercept, ready all fighters for launch and charge defence grid and ready all weapons. Within seconds alarms started to bleep on the bridge informing the bridge crew that there orders were completed. Sir the navigation officer shouted we're approaching the jump location. Thank you helms men rig for battle stations and launch all fighters inform me when all ships have launched fighter. Ready jump engines for jump to normal space came the admiral in the same breath. Sir came the CAG officer all fighter have launched fleet stands ready with full fighters and reserve fighters stand ready to launch in 3 minutes and counting sir. Good, good came the admiral reply signal fleet to jump to normal space have marines ready to drop as well.

All Yamato, Vanguard and Orpheus class ships take point came the orders from Admiral Howe to all task force alpha ships. Have the heavy guns take point while the faster lighter guns act as fighter and point defence screens all fighters attack at will. All ships to remain in formation we don't want the Ch'lonas forces splitting our forces. Within a few minutes of the task force coming out of hyperspace and they started there assault on the Ch'lonas local defence forces what was being smashed into pieces with every volley from the Earth ships. Every ship was now moving away from there escorts chasing down fleeing enemy vessels.

EAS Tirpitz has broken from formation and its heading for the last Ch'lonas defence station our sensors read limited weapons on board admiral. This is Khan to squadron 939 make way to the Tirpitz encase Commodore Wayne needs some discrete aid. Rodger that Admiral the good old Jolly Rodger squadron will deal with any surprises the old Tirpitz can't handle on her own. I knew I could count on you Admiral and Schear good hunting. Commodore Wayne had launched all of his fusion missiles through the Ch'lonas debris field to hide there approach what had gone unnoticed by all his fellow task force commanders as well as the enemy forces. That basic mistake was going to make the Ch'lonas pay and pay big time. The remaining Ch'lonas forces had regrouped at the foreside of there last remaining military base.

As soon as the Tirpitz came into range of the stations heavy weapons they opened fire on the Tirpitz. Commodore Wayne was just sitting back asking his sensor officer how many hits could the Nanite shields would take before they would fail. His reply was at there present strength sir our shields will hold without failing. Sir new enemy contacts moving from behind the enemy station sir and sensors are picking up the Jolly Rodger squadron on intercept.

Inform the Jolly Rodger to slow down as there's going to be a fireworks display any moment now and as that was transmitted to Admiral Schear the Tirpitz's missiles finally cleared the enemy debris field and started to slam into the enemy space station and some of the remaining Ch'lonas fleet. With great massive thuds slamming into a solid mass and then being blinded by the explosion from the impacts and getting flung around from the shock wave currants.

Admiral Howe looked over to his sensor officer and asked if there were any more enemy ships, satellites or space stations remaining when the sensor officer replied all enemy targets have been neutralized. Now commander Stanton open communication channels to the Ch'lon send the message to the Ch'lon government asking for there surrender from there unproved attacks on our local systems what we control. Send the message in there language as well so they know they don't have the excuse of not understanding us. I do hope our files we have on them are correct Commander Stanton. Stanton's reply was fast Yes sir there language files were the first thing we had taken from there computers sir. Good, good commander now let's see how long they take to admit defeat.

While task force one was wrapping up there fight with the Ch'lonas Admiral Reader was taking up a ringing tactic of the Koulani system. Once all ships were in place he gave the go ahead to launch fighters and arm all weapons and prepare for emergency jump to normal space. This was a tactic that Reader had been working on in the simulators for some time perfecting. Communications officer send a secure black channel message to Admiral Howe saying time task force two we jumping in now and good congrats on your victory. Send message commander Black.

Task force two actual to all ships ready for emergency jump and all weapons fire as they bare on you Fleet actual out. All ships jump, jump now. Admiral Reader she was giving orders out very calming as she always did. Tactical bring the main guns on target baring 178 mark 309 degrees and fire on target. Helm full battle speed and communications inform my escort to keep loose but not to loose as I might slip my collar. Sensors, where's there next big gunned ship. Ma'am all enemy capital ships have been destroyed Ma'am. Well done everyone now move in closer to there next line of defences. So tactical would it be my guess that if all our ships fired our missiles we would smash there lines and force them to bring there reserves into play. Yes Ma'am replied lieutenant commander Yung-Ling then as two of us can't be wrong lieutenant commander then prepare missiles for fire. This is task force actual to all missile carrying warships you have all permission to fire all missiles at the enemy lines straight ahead and launch all missiles. Permission is granted by Admiral Reading authorisation code Delta Charlie 619 gamma launch all birds. The missiles they were carrying were due to be removed and replaced and both task forces were informed if they could use them to use them by high command.

The Koulani didn't know what they had just seen happen but all there sensors started to go of the chart they started to fire into the missiles but they were too late and over whelming missiles coming from all directions. The Koulani trap for the Earthier's had failed and they were going to pay by grouping there ships so close to there battle stations and weapons platforms. Once the first missile strike hit the Koulani line they started to move away and increasing weapons fire what was blinding there sensors when they hit a missile and it was causing a massive EMP wave. Once the pulse had hit the Koulani front row they had lost all time within 20 seconds after the first EMP wave had hit the entire Koulani fleet it was destroyed floating around in space glowing from the weapon strikes from the Combined second task force.

Communications officer open a secure black channel to Task force actual leader and send him the damage reports and losses and missile usage reports. Now open a channel to the Koulani home world stating we are demanding there surrender for the acts against our race in joint unprovoked attacks with the Ch'lonas against our border system.

Both task groups reported no ships lost but nearly 400 warships with some form of damage but in most cases the damage was only slight and minor. With a total of 18% of all fighters have either been destroyed are has some form of damage to them. That's good going people as we are new to space combat but this shows it's similar to what we've been trained for. Good luck to us all. CAG I would like the names of our falling personnel who died during this mission.

The task force's stayed in orbit of Ch'lon and Koulan for hours before they got a message saying they needed time to run it through there leaders. The admiral laughed and said more like there looking for ways to shoot us out of the stars as we make repairs and search for survivors. Tactical keep all weapons charged and targeting there majour political buildings and there military babes just incase.

Both the Ch'lonas and Koulani both sent a joint statement lot long into the 2nd Earth day for the ships being in orbit stating that they would sign an unconditional surrender straight away. They feared us they thought we were a Race called Centauri what once controlled that area of space of which they were once slaves to them. As a sign of mercy and good will and future friendship we gave them control of there own planet but they couldn't again have there own military forces for that they would have to join Earth Force. They were told that there monarch would have to come in person to make this surrender legal under Earth Alliance law.

By now the colony programme had spread into more areas during the time it took Earth Force to end the border raids it took some 5 weeks what had 35 more systems now under Earth Alliance control. Earth Force was moving out towards the galactic rim zone and towards the core worlds as well. It was at this time a ship appeared in orbit around Earth from hyper space. This ship was transmitting in perfect English say how honoured they were to finally meet the children of Earth.

They had originally come with a warning regarding a star system they where getting very close to with every passing week. They called this planet Z'ha'dum it's a planet with an ancient dark and evil race what wants to enslave every race in the known galaxy. They also said that they were once conquered by this race what they only call Shadows. They were here now to help with giving the human race the gifts of perfect gravity control, Hyperspace tap reactors, cloaking technology, quantum gravimetric shielding and engines, sensors, weapon designs organic weapons, organic bio armour and organic technology in general and finally armour technology that with the Earth Alliance Nanite armour shield would make them impervious to any attacks. They said they had been studying Earth since before life walked the lands and swam in the oceans and sea's we are the Guardians of Earth and we are called the Kirish lordship the technology has been broken down in ways you will be able to understand. It has been nice speaking with your Race my children but its time we leave before the others realise what we have done and come and strike you down for our folly. Call our name and we will come if the others ever turn on you we will never forget you and you never know we may see each other again.

The Leader of the Kirish Lords sat in the middle of his chamber aboard his ship waiting for King Antony to come see him. When King Antony entered the chamber he rose and bowed at King Antony and in return King Antony returned the bow. Yes my child I knew you would come and see me before we left your world. I have a gift for you we know you and we are friends so parting gifts are your races customs. We know you have more knowledge than any race and person including Lorain.

So I also know you cant use all that you know so what I'm giving you is the total knowledge of our species like someone did for us a long time ago. Its hard saying goodbye my son but its time for you to leave our ship so we can make our journeys but soon you will be needed to be at your best and strongest. What do you mean that I have to be at my best and I hope this isn't a long goodbye but farewell till we meet again my friend said King Antony. King Antony rose and left the Kirish Lordship ship.

Before the Kirish lords left they sent a message to all of Earth Alliance saying His Royal Highness has visited us today and we spoke to him briefly. Plus we have giving him our final gift to the human race our entire history and technology files. They ended there message then they left with kind words of departing as a parent leaves there child when they leave them to head to work. It was a very brief greeting and a gift that any race would love to have but in all the data files transmitted it says for the eyes of our children those of earth only.

Over the years the ties of friendship grew between all of Earths Protectorate powers. Not more so then the Brakiri who maintained there very own trade and separate defence force what was split up into offence and defence ability. Earth even helped the Brakiri to Teraform several of there planets in there home system to make them perfect for Brakiri and Humans alike.

A.N. I would like to say thank you to my Bata reader Susan Hilton. As she has put a lot of hard work into making my storey readable.

SORRY IF THIS WAS TO LONG OF A STOREY BUT I DO HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

ALL THE SAME I HOPE YOU COME BACK FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2. Part One. The Centauri Gambit.

With the technology given to the Royal Earth Alliance from the Kirish Lordship, it had helped them to advance Earth even more, even though their technology was more advanced than all the races they had encountered, apart from the Kirish themselves. Thankful about the warning about the Shadow's home world of Z'ha'dum, they had started to set up massive border stations. Made with the already formidable Nanite armor, it now was composed of the new armor type called polycrystalline nanite armor. With a fully working Quantum Gravimetric Drive, it gave them enough power to maintain the shield at full power and to keep the battle station in perfect position, even in combat.

The Z'ha'dum battle stations were of the improved Mauryan class; now being classed as the Inca class. They were impressive to look upon. They measured some 16.4 miles in length by 7.3 miles wide and deep; thirty meter thick polycrystalline nanite armor, eighty-five quantum discharge cannons, two hundred and eighty heavy particle cannons, five hundred and fifty heavy fireball cannons, sixteen hundred neutron cannons, sixteen hundred lightning cannons, three thousand one hundred fifty antimatter burst cannons and five thousand antimatter pulse cannons. Plus the Inca Class fighters had bombers assigned to the stations at all times. There was also a squadron of cruisers assigned to patrol duty all the time.

The Earth Force warships had advanced in a massive degree in the last few years. They no longer needed that secondary gravity system as it proved to slow ships down. They relied on the gravimetric drives they were producing, now in large scale. With military patrols always on the advance, they started to use the more outdated ships to create new star bases in systems that didn't warrant a major build up. They, however, still warranted some token presence all the same. By 2120, they were using the star charts from a Vree saucer that entered Earth space. They discovered that they were now only a hand full of systems away from the dreaded Centauri Republic. The race that all of the space faring races new and most feared from attack are from been brought into there Republic as slaves.

Earth Force had every system on heightened security and warning in case the Centauri turned their eyes towards the Earth Alliance. However, even though the Earth Alliance was young to the stars, in technology terms and combat skill they were second to none.

On the bridge of the Royal Flagship, the RGS Throne Ship, Admiral Von Koyster was pacing back and forth, peering at all the screens as he walked past them. He had the bridge crew slightly on edge, but they all knew he took his job of protecting His Majesty very seriously. He looked at the sensor officer, Lieutenant Commander Silver.

"Have we reached the security check point station yet?" asked Von Koyster. "Yes, sir. We have just reached their sensor beacons" replied Silver. "Sir, we are being hailed from Vega check Point station twenty five" announced Commander Styles. "Open the channel if you will, Commander." The communications officer complied swiftly. The officer from the check point appeared on the main viewing screen.

"Greetings, Admiral Von Koyster. We weren't expecting you for at least another four days." said Commodore White, the head of the check point base. "Well, David, that's what happens when his Majesty is travelling into a region of space close to those Centauri. Everyone is scared of them" replied Von Koyster.

"Well, Admiral, your escorts won't be all arriving for three days at best. So, please, make yourself at home aboard my Station. I know it's not like the new grander types, but the Orion's have all the comforts of home" replied Commodore White. "With an offer like that, I can't say no" replied Von Koyster with a smile. Von Koyster looked over to his communication officer and with a hand gesture, Captain Cummings closed the channel.

Von Koyster started his pacing again around the bridge. He started to think things over in his head. Now, what was he trying to tell me without telling me? Oh, yes… the guard ships should have been here days ago and some of them weeks ago. "Lt. Commander Silver, run long range sensor scans and locate the nearest guard ships for me, if you please. Also, bring the report to my office." As he walked to the bridge door to the lift, he entered it and set his level for his destination. He went straight to his office and then to his desk and sat down.

He activated his computer. "Computer, did the recent transmission from Vega check point station twenty-five have any private messages hidden in its transmissions?" "Analyzing…stand by." He waited until the computer completed its analysis. "Yes, Admiral Von Koyster. There is a private message for you from Commodore White." "Computer, please relay private message." The image of Commodore White appeared on his monitor.

"Von Koyster, my old friend, things here aren't as easy sailing as I hoped they would have been. When your first group of guard ships arrived I had asked them to search for a cargo fleet that had gone missing that same day. We got a garbled message from them, stating they were under attack from powerful pirate ships. I've also informed sector command and they are sending extra ships to the region. This message contains all the data concerning latest pirate raids in the area and the ships lost. The worst part, sir, I was given the files regarding the Centauri ships. There is a clear image of at least seven of their battle cruisers attacking this convoy. So, if you continue on this goodwill tour you have to inform His Majesty, or I can at a private dinner. Also contained in this data pack I sent you are the plans for the experimental hyperspace station that's fully operational now and is fully armed. I'm sorry I didn't give you the reason why your ships weren't present, but I thought it best to hold that back for now. End of message."

"Computer, retrieve all data that's in that data file and ask the department heads to come to my private office. Request that His Majesty attend this private meeting in twenty minutes. Make a copy of all the data that was in the message and send it to His Majesty and the department heads."

"Computer, list and display the nearest attacks to Earths local assets in the region." The computer brought up a map of local space and the Earth bases in the region including their new Hyperspace battle stations. "So, computer, these Pirates and Raiders will be in for a shock. Send a data message to all hyperspace battle stations that they have to support their local normal space defenses and to follow the Pirates and Raiders back to their home base. Send message immediately" ordered Von Koyster.

"Computer, start my personal log." He waited until the computer indicated that it was ready. "Now all we need is to hope these Pirate Raids are of Centauri origin and coming in from some top secret military base. Then with all the fire power in this sector and more on its way we can overrun their entire frontier in weeks and bring them to their knees, begging for us to show them mercy. Now I just have to make out a battle plan that his majesty and the military brass back home won't complain too much about. Computer end recording" requested Von Koyster.

An hour after the meeting all the officers were leaving, except for Von Koyster and His Majesty, who wanted to talk over the things that had transpired in the meeting. "Now Admiral, what do you think we will gain if we follow their plans to lead us to war with the Centauri Republic?" asked His majesty. "In all fairness, if we deliberately seek them out, then we are provoking them. But if we continue as normal, as you indicated in the meeting, and if we are attacked, we can deal with the Centauri then" replied Von Koyster. His Majesty nodded in agreement. "Computer what's the present number of starships near this ship at present?"

"There is, at the moment, three Tillman class Royal Battleships, twelve Kitty Hawk class Assault Cruisers, eighteen Moscow class Light Destroyers, twenty-seven Typhoon class Heavy Frigates, three Genius class Long Range construction ships, three Liberty class Medium Range construction ships and eighteen Shark class Medium Range exploration Ships. We are also carrying eight Orion class military space stations for deployment in the safe zones."

"Admiral, I think it's time we find a safe location for the Orion space stations and I want some of them deployed in Hyperspace as well. I want to set a trap for the Centauri and whoever else is foolish enough to attack us. We have to let them know that we have no fear of Hyperspace combat" said His Majesty.

"Sire, why not use all eight Orion's form a base in hyperspace? Having a central station there would have five stations surrounding it with the remaining two stations placed; one above and below the central station." suggested Von Koyster. His Majesty smiled at Von Koyster and laughed. "Well, Admiral, that will make the complex a hyper space version of Fort Knox. You have my support on that idea. Make it so, my friend."

"Once we arrive in the Vega check point Station location we will send out our Sharks to locate a perfect location for the trap." He pressed a button on the admiral's desk. "Bridge, how long until we are ready to return to normal space at the check point?" asked His Majesty. Von Koyster looked at His majesty, wanting to tell him it should be no more than about a half an hour, but he was shocked to hear the bridges reply.

"Your majesty, we will be returning to normal space in nine minutes. We had increased speed some time ago due to the alert that was sent out" replied Commodore Tennant. "Tennant, Von Koyster here. When we return to normal space, launch the Sharks. They will get their orders enroute direct from His Majesty or me, and ready the Orion Stations for deployment as well. Von Koyster out." "Admiral, was there any need for that tone?" asked His Majesty. Von Koyster started to laugh.

"Well, Your Majesty, my tone was to stop him from asking too many questions, that's all" replied Von Koyster. "Sire, it's time we head to the bridge. You may get a shock from seeing this. It's been fortified to the defense scale of the Shadow defense front." His Majesty started to laugh "I have seen the reports on this site. I'm not the commander in Chief for nothing" replied His Majesty. They both headed back to the bridge, and as they got in the lift, His Majesty whispered: "I knew of this place; just not how strong it's become. All our hopes will rise and set here if we fail."

They arrived on the bridge just as the RGS Thrown Ship was forming its vortex to return to normal space. "Open a channel to the station and inform them that His Majesty will be heading over to speak to Commodore White" Von Koyster said to the com officer as soon as they arrived on the Bridge. "Admiral, the Sharks have been launched as ordered, sir and the Orion stations are ready to deploy per your orders" announced the duty CAG officer.

"Excellent, people. Now send the orders to the Sharks' Admiral, if you please and ask them to follow the grid search patterns for the Vega systems closest to the Centauri Borders" ordered His Majesty. On board the Royal Transport heading towards Station twenty five: Attention: all personal and passengers return to your seats as we are about to enter the station air lock doors" came the transport captains voice over the intercom system. There was a gentle nudge as the transport came to a perfect landing. "Honor Guard stand by the ships' docking ramp for exit to the station." ordered Captain Reynolds.

Admiral Von Koyster and several security officers stood up and started to escort His Majesty to the ships ramp. "The one thing I hate about being king is the fact I have all this to deal with, especially when it's my first visit to a new place" said His Majesty in an informal tone. "Greetings, Your Majesty, and welcome to Vega check point station twenty-five" said Commodore White. "Thank you, Commodore, for having me here today and it's a great honor to be here with you all. You all do such a great and important job. While to some it may not sound or look important, I beg to differ. Your job as guardian is very important and thank you once again for making my crew and me so welcome" said His Majesty on stepping through the threshold at station twenty-five.

They all walked to the commodore's office and sat down. They then chatted about the latest on the pirates in the area and that they have been confirmed as Centauri. Admiral Von Koyster started to clear his throat and then spoke. "David, what I'm about to say is top secret. We are going to head into hyper space and set up a forward defense base there just in case the worst case scenario becomes an actual threat. We are also going out doing what we came here for: to look over all the systems and outposts we have set up. But if while doing our official jobs out here and we get attacked, we can deal with the Centauri Republic straight away" said Von Koyster.

Three weeks later the Throne Ship slowly moved away from the newly built Vega Hyperspace Defense station. Von Koyster was looking at his personal screen and rereading the message he had just sent the Vega HSDS one. '_Wow__'_ he thought to himself, '_Those orders look like they were put there in case of disaster, but in reality they were close to reinforce us when needed. No wonder I can__'__t beat him at Chess. He encounters every move possible!__'_

"So, Robert, do you think the Hyperspace Defense Station will hold out during a fire fight in hyperspace?" asked Admiral Von Koyster to the Tactical officer, Captain Rogerson. "Yes, sir." Rogerson replied. "It will hold out. I ran some tactical scenarios regarding what it could hold out against, sir, and it would take at least three full fleets of fire power to take it out." The sensor warning alarms started to beep at the helm station, indicating that the ship was reaching its jump co-ordinates for normal space. "Helm, how long to normal space?" asked Von Koyster as His Majesty entered the bridge. "We will be ready for normal space in t-minus four minutes and counting, sir." replied the helm officer.

"This will be a Royal State Visit, everyone. Take a defensive posture. All flight crews to their fighters and bombers; bring the defense grid online and charge all weapons. We are in this system to set up the local governor and for His Majesty to visit a member of his family, who moved here as part of the Royal Presence to colonies the Governments set up" stated Commodore Jameson, Royal Liaison Officer. Jameson looked over to Von Koyster and then to each and every member of the Throne Ship's bridge crew, searching for any signs of nervousness that could cause them to become trigger happy in their jobs, but he saw no sign of edginess. "Admiral Von Koyster to all hands: rig for Vortex travel and prepare for jump to normal space, everyone." said the Admiral.

As soon as they entered the vortex, the sensors started to bleep, showing them that there were several ships heading on an intercept course for them in hyperspace. "Admiral, sensors indicate there are ships waiting for us in normal space sir." stated the duty sensor officer. Jameson spun round and looked straight at the sensor officer. "But are they Earth vessels and, if not, who are they?" asked Jameson with a worried tone. "Sorry, sir. They're not of Earth origin. We can make out their numbers, sir and there are sixty of them." replied the sensor officer in a worried tone.

"Sir enemy forces have grouped into a heavy wedge formation, and it seems a heavy wall. Their weapons fire will be at their fullest height, head on. Tactical advises us to punch through their forward screens and hit them from their rear flanks, as initial scans show them weak on their rear zones." The Throne Ship was launching their fighters and bombers at a steady rate. They had just launched their last main squadrons and started to prep the reserves for launch when the jump vortexes formed all around them. The enemy had come through the vortex with guns locked on to the Throne Ship.

"Sir they have their weapons at full power and they're firing on us." said the sensor officer. The ships shields didn't even flicker with the brute attack power that was being flung at it. "Sir, the interceptors are taking about ninety percent of their weapons fire and the shield systems are soaking the remainder up" said the tactical officer. "They're launching fighters!" shouted Commodore Jameson over the noise of the orders being given. At this point His Majesty strolled onto the bridge and looked at the CAG officer and requested to have the bombers target and destroy their engines and for their fighters to deal with the enemies' fighters.

"Bring the Particle cannons on line and bring them to bear on the nearest enemy that's firing on us." ordered His Majesty. "Make sure we don't fire at full power. I want these scumbags to suffer for their unprovoked assault." "Sire, we don't need to play with these animals. We should defeat them as fast as we can" replied both Von Koyster and Jameson in complete unison.

"Particle cannons have been set at thirty-five percent of optimum strength, sir" said the tactical officer. "You don't need to wait for my orders fire on their engines" ordered His Majesty. The people on the Centauri warships were trying their hardest to evade the weapons fire being thrown at them. In the first couple of salvos, the huge Earth ship had completely destroyed their flagship. What fighters they had were outmatched and destroyed within seconds. The Bombers were taking out the engines of each and every Centauri warship.

On the bridge of the ISS Rampage, Lord Dei stood looking over the loss of their flagship that was under control of the Emperor's grandson. "This is Lord Dei to all ships; I'm taking over the command of the fleet. This ship is too strong for an all out assault. We most retreat to hyperspace to regroup" ordered Lord Dei. House Captain Vir Dei looked at Lord Dei.

"Dear cousin, we might not get a chance to regroup. Their fighters have destroyed every last one of our fighters. Their bombers have taken out sixty-three percent of the fleets' jump ability. The remaining ships won't last long enough for a recharge. It looks like we followed the wrong advice today and soon we will be with the Great Maker" said Vir to Lord Dei. "Yes, I know our engines were one of the first to go. I still can't understand why they haven't finished us off already. Only the Great Maker knows their thinking, my cousin" said Lord Dei to House Captain Dei.

"My Lord, their fighters have broken a hole in our formation and that ship is even stronger than a Minbari Fleet Ship. We are having massive troubles bringing their shields down. The best we can manage is a thirty-three percent reduction. So that means this race is going to make us pay, especially if they're this strong." There were seven massive explosions from what was once Seven Primius class battle cruisers.

"What just happened there and what did we miss?" demanded both of the Dei cousins in unison. "My Lord, we just lost the remaining ships that had a fully working Hyperdrive system and working Jump engines, and that's not the worst of it" said their tactical officer as their ship was shaking with minor explosions rippling along their entire hull. "What did you say there and what was that?" demanded Lord Dei.

'_By the gods, they have split our forces in twain, and now their weapon strikes have increased in strength and duration! We will be lucky to last the day!__'__,_ thought House Captain Dei. '_We have to get out of this fire pit and inform Centauri Prime that we have attacked a race that looks to have strength on par with the mighty Minbari War cruisers.__'_

The tactical officer looked at both of them, shaking his head back and forth, trying to figure out how to tell them the bad news. "My Lord Dei, we have lost all weapons now and we no longer have thrusters and their fighters are returning to their mother ships" said the tactical officer. House Captain Dei spoke first to reply. "What of our other ships? Surely they can still fire on the enemy ships" asked Captain Dei. The tactical officer just looked at them and shook his head again, saying nothing; then the ship started to move once more.

Lord Dei looked out of the window and turned to face his bridge crew. "Can someone please explain how we are moving if we have no engines?". The sensor officer looked over to Captain Dei and said "They're pulling us into their ship with a tractor beam. It looks like they're doing the same thing to the other ships too" replied the sensor officer. "Well since we don't have any weapons left, we still can blow the ship up from the inside. Hail our other ships and tell them to activate their self destruct systems" ordered Lord Dei. Then a massive energy pulse hit each ship and, within seconds, all their ships were fully powered down. "Damn them all to hell in the name of all our gods!" screamed Lord Dei.

House Captain Dei walked over to his cousin and whispered to him "We didn't have time to start the self-destruct sequence before they fired their energy dampening weapons at us."

Back aboard the Throne Ship, Von Koyster was congratulating His Majesty on an easy victory against such a powerful force of ships. His Majesty thanked him and laughed, saying they only had larger numbers, not better tactics. He returned to his task of scanning their ships for internal fires and the percentages of fumes and toxins that were building up in the Centauri ships. "Boarding parties, go in with gas masks and make sure you don't board until the toxins reach pre-set levels" he said, handing them the information he just got from His Majesty.

After what had seemed a brief weapons fight, Von Koyster yelled at the CAG officer to launch patrols at once into hyperspace and for Command and Control to open a jump vortex once the fighters were in space. He then turned around, asking for a physical check upon His Majesty to see if he was injured in any way. His Majesty strolled over to Von Koyster like nothing had happened

The crews of the Earth ships were finally ready to board the Centauri crafts. Even though the ships had been docked at their ships for close to four hours, they weren't taking any chances with the Centauri crews. The boarding teams moved through the ships, rounding up all the Centauri who were now prisoners of war. They had found the information about who was who on board the Centauri craft easy to access and identified the senior officers. It was then they found out that their Emperor's Grandson died in the opening volleys from the Throne Ship.

Admiral Von Koyster gave the order to open fire on their engines. At first as he didn't want his sport to end now that they had begun the Centauri killing season. Explosion after explosion ripped through the Centauri ships until the last ship was destroyed; not by weapons fire, but from explosions of the destroyed Centauri ships that now littered the system in huge chunks of floating wreckage.

Captain Canine walked onto the bridge to report in person to His Majesty. "Your Majesty, it's my great honor to inform you that we have managed to capture all the surviving crew from those Centauri ships, and we found out that they were about to start their auto destruct systems. I would also like to request a group of telepaths to aide in the search and interrogation of the prisoners." "Well Captain, I think I'd better go get my battle suit on. I'm good in a fire fight and I'm the strongest telepath on board the Throne Ship. Also, I'm very good with computers and languages. If you can think of a better person to help your squad, please say so."

"No, Your Majesty, my men and I would be much honored to have you accompany us in this boarding operation." Von Koyster spun around, looking at the Captain and screaming at him in his head. "Now Stephan," said the telepath with a smile, "if you keep screaming at the Captain like that, you will end up in med bay. He can't hear you my friend." He laughed as the Captain and he walked off, leaving the Admiral behind, worrying for His Majesty's safety.

"Don't worry about the Admiral, Captain. He's a good officer, but somewhat overprotective of me at times. I want these ships ready to be sent off to our nearest ship yard within the day. Then we are going to go hunting the Centauri down and capturing as many ships with the end goal of three fleets' worth of inferior alien war ships." "Sire, may I ask to see the scans we ran during the battle? We thought them to be powerful and we can't see now why they are so feared."

"Yes, they are powerful to some, but extremely weak to the Throne Ship and inferior to our first generation warships. However, in large enough groups, they can still cause us harm; especially to our civilian ships." As they moved through the corridors of the ship, the boarding teams split up. They were followed by guardians and techs, darting into side rooms. There were short bursts of arms fire and then a large flash of blue light as the guardians used a stun bomb to capture the Centauri forces. The captain's team was heading directly for the ships main bridge, where His Majesty knew he had to go fast, since the Senior Centauri personnel, while alive for now, wouldn't remain that way for much longer.

They finally arrived at a set of heavily reinforced doors. The crew was going to fire on them, but his majesty looked at them and shook his head no, telling them to wait a few minutes. He walked over to a panel on the wall and removed it, looked inside and knew what this panel controlled. He looked around and saw another panel, walked over to it, removed the panel hatch, looked inside and laughed, saying "This is what he needs." He gripped the wires in his hands and conjured some nanites to reprogram the ship's main computer system from Centauri to English.

He looked around some more. "Captain Canine, when the doors open, send your men in first. The Techs will come in with me. Don't worry Captain; the doors will open and very shortly. Trust me. I will reprogram the com system for English." Lights started to flicker all over the ship and then the doors started to open. As they walked onto the bridge, the Centauri present were on the floor, almost dead from lack of oxygen.

"Medics!" screamed Captain Canine into his com-link. Within a few minutes, the medics were there. His Majesty then informed them of who and what they were and how important those people now were for the war effort. "Well, Captain, these ships look like they're the finest ships in the Centauri Navy. These are called Primus class battle cruisers. To Earth standards they are quite inferior, and they will need some major modifications done to them if we are going to use these ships to set up a trap for the Centauri."

His majesty stopped and turned around to look at the medics manhandling the Centauri prisoners. He said "This one is named Lord Dei. He's a senior official. He's a member of their royal court. This other one is House Captain Dei; Lord Dei's own cousin and now the highest ranking officer in this fleet." Captain Canine looked over at his Majesty and asked "What do you mean, now the highest ranked, sire?" "It looks like we killed the grandson of their present Emperor in our first few barrages."

"Well Sire, they did fire on us first. We were protecting our Monarch, and if this is the best they have, bring them on. We will teach them a lesson." Within forty minutes, all of the first Primus class battle cruisers had been fully repaired. All the remaining ones came on line as well. "So Captain, I understand that you have starship command experience. Is that correct?" "Yes sire, that is correct." "Excellent, Canine. I hereby promote you to the field rank of Commodore. Your first mission will be to escort these ships to the nearest Earth ship yard. From there, the listed modifications must be carried out as soon as possible."

The Commodore just looked at his majesty with a shocked look on his face. After a few seconds he replied "Yes your Majesty. We should be able to have the ships enroute in twenty minutes." "Make that ten and you have a deal, my friend. The nearest shipyard coordinates have been fed into your navigation systems already. Good hunting." His Majesty turned around and started to walk off the bridge of the Rampage.

His Majesty paused at the command chair and asked Von Koyster if he could have the seat first. He needed to stop the war starting, because he needed time to get his pawns into place. He wanted a well planned counter attack that would be faster and have more deadly force than what they could normally get.

He then turned to look directly at the communication officer. He asked softly to open a priority one black channel to the office of the Prime minister and the President the head of the senate. He opened a direct channel to both of them, using the split diplomatic screen function, explaining what had just happened. He also explained that the Earth government needed to agree to increase spending for the foreseeable future. The Royal Earth Alliance would be going into a pre war footing until they had all their pieces in place, but they needed more ships.

"My primary goal is to capture as many ships as we can, send them back to the nearest shipyard and then use them to spy on the Centauri. We also must locate their main shipping lanes." Both the Prime Minister and President looked with glee in their eyes. "So your Majesty, will we be going into Centauri space to wipe them out or to conquer them?" asked the President.

"No, Gentlemen, we will not be doing either. We will be just taking some of their territories from them and liberating a conquered race called the Narn. The captured ships will be turned over to the Narn as a gift of our friendship, and we will be giving them aid with whatever they need from us. There's something special about them, and the records we have show them to have had interaction with First Ones. The Kirishic Lords have said we will need allies to help against the Shadows and their dark allies. The information we have gained from the Centauri's own computers state there were still small groups of Narn Resistance groups in space and in their former colonies." When he finished with that chat, he opened another communication channel; this time to the head of the Royal Guard. He asked the Fleet Marshall to dispatch thirty fleets to the Centauri border and at least one hundred and thirty support fleets if possible. The Earth Alliance would be at war soon enough. They will not engage the Centauri in any way other than in self defense. Their role was to gather information on their ships and the size of their fleet over all.

Back on Centauri Prime, the Emperor had summoned all the Centaurum and the other Great houses, he wanting to know what had happened to his Grandson and to Lord Dei, who was in charge of his security force. The last they heard, they were investigating a large ship in hyperspace in their former borders, having withdrawn from that sector of space.

"Well, everyone, if Lord Dei has allowed my grandson to die in combat, heads will roll for this. Get the shipyards ready for war. Make sure your own House Forces are fit for combat or your heads will roll, too. If my memory serves me correctly, Lord Refa, your house has a very large fleet of our new Battle cruisers. I'm ordering you to dispatch a third of them to my grandson's last known location and to tell me what has happened, Lord Refa."

"This Emperor is a fool, but I will do as he commands. I know my head will probably roll, but I'll send one of my house Admirals on this; especially when I'm sending a third of my primus fleet." Lord Mollari started to laugh. "Your fleet is large, but not as powerful as mine. The Emperor knows that, and if you would like, I will send some ships to protect you." Several other Centaurum members joined in the laughter.

"Lord Refa, as head of intelligence, you should know that there is still a large force of barbarians in the area where Lord Dei's fleet went missing. We must make sure that these Narn barbarians don't get more of our ships and kill them if they try. Yes, yes I know. You and others call them barbarians, but they were in space before us, the mighty Centauri , and now we have them on the ground as our slaves."

Lord Mollari laughed at Lord Refa. "Yes these Narn were in space before us and probably as slaves. It had to be some form of fluke that they managed to beat us into space. Yes and where are they now? If they were in space before us, explain how we managed to beat them all the way back to their home world. All we had to do to beat them was lie, lord Refa, that's all. We will not let these creatures beat us. They may have managed to save far more of their ships than you had thought possible. It's your job to clean up your mess, Refa, but I'm willing to send my forces to aid you but it's for a massive price."

"I will order several of my house Admirals and Generals to this job of locating this young upstart of the Royal Blood line. Think of the power my house will get for locating His Highnesses Grandson! My house will end up more powerful than the rest of the Centaurum combined" laughed Refa and stormed off to see his military advisors.

Back on the Throne Ship, His Majesty asked his chief medical officer if the two senior Centauri prisoners were ready to be interrogated. About a half an hour later, both prisoners were escorted into His Majesty's private chambers. "Guards, you may leave, but close and lock the doors behind you and remain on the other side of the doors until I ask for you to return. Dismissed." Now the Centauri looked at him in shock but the shock was to get worse for his prisoners.

"Greetings and welcome aboard my Throne Ship, Lord Dei and House Captain Dei. You may be shocked to see a primitive speak perfect Centauri, but that's due to my godfather, Lord Mollari. He was a powerful Technomadge and a relatively strong telepath as well. He taught me everything he knew of his people and things he later learned while on Earth." They both spun round looking at each other then they started to whisper of rumors among the great houses regarding a member of house Mollari.

"Now Lord Dei, I can prove what I said about my godfather, if you wish, but if I did, that would mean your house would no longer be a noble house." Lord Dei glowered at them and replied "How dare you! You primitive creatures come into our space and threaten us and now you say my house is no longer a noble house!". "What I meant by that is that your house and several other great houses belong to me via the will of my Godfather, and he made sure it was done using Centauri interstellar laws."

"I can see that you don't believe me. Then I will let my Godfather tell you himself." His Majesty stood up and moved away from his throne and picked up his Godfather's staff: the staff that housed the recorded holographic will. Antony raised the staff, and in shock, Lord Dei realized what was meant. On the staff was the (open) Eye symbol of House Kiro, closed Eye symbol of House Dei, a crown, a hollowed out gem of Centauri origin, a symbol of house Tuscano and there were other gems that he didn't know their names, but knew which houses they were linked to. Those houses were the Houses of Mollari, Turhan, Refa and Cartagia.

The hologram came to life. "My godson has brought me before one of the so-called great houses." He laughed and started again. "You have either made first contact with my adopted home via peace or by conflict, and I will guess by conflict. Is this true?". "Yes, it's true, my Godfather." The hologram seemed to be looking at the Centauri and then rested its eyes on Antony.

"No my son, I was asking your guests; but by the looks of the clothes and their shackles, I would say they look more like prisoners." He laughed again and turned to the Centauri prisoners and asked "Well I'm waiting for you to speak to me, child."

"Our Hyper space probes detected a massive ship in hyperspace, so we came with Lord Turhan, the grandson of the Emperor, but he was killed from that ship's first volley after we started the firefight."

"Well, then, he got what he deserved and as did your lot as well. I see that many of your ships were captured but the crews are no longer aboard this vessel. You will wish you had never come to this area of space; that I can tell you. So, my god son, why do I think you're going to teach my people a lesson in manners?"

"Now that there are Noble members of the Centaurum present, I am giving all of my lands, wealth and power to my Godson, His Royal Highness of the planet Earth. This recording was also kept off Centauri Prime, and if any other person has given away my inheritance recording, then I will invoke the right of power. As I hold onto my technomadge staff, the symbol to the Great Houses that I own, I hereby invoke the Power Act, claiming the power and titles of these former great Houses. If any of these Houses is the Emperor's, then that office becomes that of my God son, too." The hologram came to an end and faded away.

Back on Centauri Prime a Holographic recording appeared before the Emperor and his cabinet. "My fellow Centauri: for those that don't know me or have foolishly thought I couldn't harm you once I was forced off of Centauri Prime, you were wrong. If this recording has appeared you must have thought you destroyed my will. For you, this will come as a shock. I hereby invoke the Power act. As I control all of these great house symbols of leadership, the person I named in my will is now, by Centauri law, the leader of those houses. He's now Emperor as well." The hologram faded. As soon as it started to fade, Technomadge demons were seen all over Centauri prime, informing everyone of the mistake the Centaurum had committed.

Back on the Throne Ship, the Centauri had realized the error of their ways and were now willing to help these Humans, even if it meant they betrayed their home world. They tried to hold back, but they had such anger towards their leaders for allowing this to happen that they wanted to show their true house Lord how trustworthy they could be.

"You can both leave now and return to some more comfortable quarters and your Guards will escort you and remain with you in case you need anything." Within minutes of the group leaving the Throne Room, the Chief engineer came in with all the technical data scavenged from the Primus class battle cruisers. "So David can we enlarge the Primus class into something even more deadly but keeping the same design just say triple its size?." "Yes Your Majesty it's easily done but I guess you will want Earth weapons and armor on it right Sire?" His Majesty laughed

"You hit the nail on the head like always David." It was David's turn to laugh. "I guess I've been around you too much as well that data message is the design briefs for just what you asked for Sire."

The murmurings from the people within the great House of Lords chamber continued as the Prime Minister addressed its honored members. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the great chamber fell silent, the people expecting to hear the news that he had been killed in the unprovoked attack upon his throne ship. Then, he spoke again, informing them that they were all safe. The voices started to get louder, demanding a counter strike and full mobilization of the Earth Alliance borders.

Just then a voice was heard above all others, and again the room fell silent as King Antony himself addressed the House of Lords. After a moving speech asking for support and patience regarding the Centauri Republic, all the members stood up, singing "God save the king" long after he had closed the channel.

"I'm here now, via com channel, begging and pleading that we take our time to move our forces to the border systems of the Centauri Republic. Soon they will start to send out stronger fleets in a vain attempt to locate my Throne Ship. So, in many ways, I'm glad that I dispatched my escort to reinforce our new hyperspace battle station in this area. I want to make sure our combined military are at the Centauri borders in no less than sixteen weeks. That will give me time to pay back the Centauri personally."

Some time later across the Atlantic, the President had to inform the Senate House of the unprovoked attack on His Majesty's Throne Ship and how his Throne Ship was hit time and time again until His Majesty had told his crew to return fire. This was a proven method. Now they had such strong armor they could wait. Once the word was given to fire, the Centauri warships were quickly overcome with superior weapons fire. The President stood once again, asking for silence, and spread his arms above his head as he announced,

" I've just been informed the EAS Throne Ship has picked up several Centauri prisoners and His Majesty, King Antony Himself, is interrogating them." This made the entire Senate chambers lift in a hail of laughter, as they all new that he was a soft touch… or so they thought. "Sire, the advancing Centauri ships don't seem to have seen us as their weapons aren't charged and they haven't launched fighters. That is, if this class of ship carries them." "Admiral this fishing trip is all yours. We know our sensors do block the Centauri from seeing us, so over to you, Stephan." "Gunners, stand by with energy dampening weapons and fire on my command only."

The tactical officers were busy at their stations bringing the gun crews to ready status faster. "Sir the dampening weapons are at the ready and we have a good weapons lock on the approaching ships." "Don't just sit there commander open fire and stand by tractor beams!". His majesty started to laugh. "See everyone the stories from the Shâ Lassan people were brought on from fear and if you fear something it will only make it ten times worse than what it really is."

Within minutes of the Centauri ships been dragged into the hangar bays a massive fleet of one thousand Centauri warships opened jump points all but on top of the Throne Ship.

"Tactical fire all dampening weapons make sure you hit their battle cruisers." ordered His Majesty. "Sensors to full and start jamming their communications and jam their jump drives" ordered Von Koyster at the same moment as his majesties last order. The CAG was on top of his job. He was already ordering all fighters and bombers to launch and to clear way for the reserves, as they might be needed. "Get those reserves up now, and make sure their armed and fuelled before they get up here, so we can launch them faster." He ordered to the flight controller.

"Particle cannons fixed forward batteries open fire on massed Centauri forces closing in on us" ordered Von Koyster. "Have the Plasma cannons fire a hole in their fighters" ordered His Majesty. "Helm set course for the middle forces then reinforce our defense shields and fire when possible" ordered His Majesty.

"Helm why have you changed course when I ordered us to their centre?". "Sorry Sire it's the jammers. The Centauri are trying to activate jump engines on us." explained the Helm officer. "So everyone, there are even more of them out there. How are our shields holding and have we got the weapons firing at maximum output yet?"

"Sire, shields are holding at ninety-two percent. Weapons fire is running at sixty percent on main weapons and thirty percent on secondary weapons." "Get those weapons to maximum output on both primary and secondary and bring auxiliary and reserve online as well." ordered Admiral Von Koyster.

"Sir jump points forming at the extreme range of sensors enemy forces will be upon us within 150 minutes." "Then let's close that distance, people, and start destroying their ships faster. Fire all weapons, maximum rate" ordered Von Koyster. "Admiral we jumped in as close as we could they have some how managed to jam our jump drives and have the ability to deflect our jump drives as they're forming." "Helm maximum speed and inform our advanced forces we will be there soon enough."

"My Lord, Admiral Cotto's flag ship has just been destroyed. The enemy weapons fire has increased and our advanced force won't last much longer."

"Tactical I need you to fire two thousand gravimetric fusion missiles at the advancing Centauri forces, but I need you to do it in waves. Once all waves have launched, I will want you to remote detonate the last five hundred missiles to help towards blocking the Centauri sensors and visual images as well. Then three seconds after the last detonation, the next sequence and so on, understood?" ordered His Majesty. "Flight bay as soon as the first wave of detonations start, bring in the enemy vessels that have no power or that can still be salvaged."

"My Lord, we have missiles being launched at us and they're very fast. Sir, at the rate of speed in which they're travelling, they will be able to hit us in about 15 minutes." "All ships start taking evasive action. Their commander must think we are fools to stay in the same place while their missiles hunt us down and destroy us" said Admiral Feral.

"My Lord, their missiles are changing course to intercept us. Wait, there's something going on. Their last waves have all exploded. We can't see the battle now" the sensor officer said. After a few moments, the last wave of fusion missiles had self destructed, causing major problems for the Centauri fleet. They knew before the first wave of fusion explosions the Centauri fleet still had the best part of 1300 warships. How many were operational was another story.

"We should have sensors back any moment" claimed the sensor officer. When they finally came online they were in shock. All that remained was that Massive ship from that infidel race. Massive blast waves hit each and every Centauri warship while their fighters were destroyed at extreme range.

"Admiral, destroy only the ships that seem to be of an older design than their Primus class battle cruisers, as I'm hoping to capture at least four thousand ships. If we can't make it with just Primus class, then anything will do. Have the cargo ships ready to transport these ships to the ship yards for rebuild and upgrade programs." instructed His Majesty.

"Admiral, they have closed the range. We are now in weapons range" announced the tactical officer, Maltorian. "Then fire at will, Maltorian , and inform the fleet to fire on those ships with everything we have." ordered Admiral Feral. "Sir, our weapons are having limited effect against their defense grid and their shields with what scans we have managed to pick up from it they're stronger than even the mighty Minbari ships" said Maltorian.

"Feral to all damaged ships; we have to find a way to destroy this ship, so I'm ordering you to ram that ship at maximum speed and let's hope it causes some serious damage. Feral out. He paused and then explained. "It's the last action of a beaten person, but if it works, we will be famous and powerful." "Sir, the damaged ships have been hit with dampening energy fire and it's turning on us and all remaining ships!" exclaimed the sensor officer.

"What do you mean by 'all remaining ships'? asked the admiral worriedly. Just as the power from his interface powered down and all lighting died, and auxiliary systems didn't have any power as well. "Can we get a message out to see how many ships can still fight? Never mind. I'll go and look for myself." He walked to the bridge window and looked out to see his entire fleet dead in space with holes in the hull that were venting atmosphere. They could be seen on every ship.

"Maltorian, please check the manual interface for the atmosphere scrubbers. They're just outside the bridge door." ordered the Admiral. Feral looked out to his nearest allied vessel just to see the crew floating around on the bridge dead from suffocation. The artificial gravity had been disengaged as well. "Sir the Bridge doors have magnetically sealed and that only happens when a vacuum alarm has been sounded…or should have sounded" explained Maltorian.

"Admiral, if you please, begin the scavenger mission and make sure we get the mobile shipyards to us faster. The Centauri won't allow us to pick their fleets apart anymore." "Sire, but why do you think that? They haven't changed their tactics much from having a fleet in hyperspace to act as reserves and that failed them too."

"Yes, and next time, Admiral, they will bring their reserves to the field to engage us en mass, and I bet if they even bothered to fire their weapons all at the same time, they might have won. However, they would have to also have a weapons lock on us something that they don't."

"I'll head to my chambers. Please bring me the bridge crew from the ship that was sending out all their fleet orders. We'll see if they have a senior fleet officer or a leading member of their Centaurum."

"If you will allow me the honour, Sire, I will send our report back to fleet command regarding their weapons and latest in ship design information from that battle."

Back in the Throne Room on board the EAS Throne Ship, ten Centauri prisoners were brought in and forced to kneel in front of His Royal Highness. At this point he asked and ordered his guardsmen to leave the room as he wished to be on his own with his prisoners to see what they would say to him. As soon as the doors locked and sealed themselves and the guards left, the Centauri prisoners started to feel like they could overpower this stupid savage in front of them. Antony raised his hand to get their attention. Then he spoke to them in perfect Centauri and he knew they were a part of house of Mollari ; the same house his godfather was once heading and he moved his left hand in a swooping motion and a holographic image of the Late Count Mollari appeared. They knew that he knew this man as he asked about the Mollari Tomb if a place was there for his Godfather.

This strange interrogation went on for several hours until their minds burned from the strength of telepathic Psi scans. His Majesty was gently put on one at the same time, very forcefully ripping the present information regarding the state of the Centauri Republic. "You will tell me all I need to know!" His Majesty screamed at the Centauri officers in their very own language. The stronger he pushed his mind against their refusal, the more they screamed, but in the end, they all caved in and gave him all the information he wanted. At this point, their minds had been changed to a point where they obeyed everything His Majesty said to them.

So now it begins. The circle must start, and I've set the circle in motion he thought to himself. All we need now is my rebuilt Centauri Warships and they can scan and scout a major location for me when they arrive, as I don't want to launch any type of major attack for some time.

His Majesty was jolted out from his day dreams by his link. "Your Majesty, you're needed on the bridge. We have unknown vessels coming out of jump points and they are hailing us." "I'm on my way, Stephan. All I can do is hope they understand us or we can understand them."

His Majesty walked onto the bridge and walked over to his command chair. "So let me hear their message. You never know… I might get lucky." "This is War Leader Shan'Tal of the first circle to unidentified vessels: please respond. We have sent a language file for you."

"Is that all the message states?" His Majesty started to read the files and looked at them and said "They want us to respond and I think they basically mean us no harm…I hope." "Send our Language files and open a channel to them, please. This is His Majesty, King Antony of Earth to Shan'Tal of the First Circle. We are here because of your enemies, the Centauri. I wish to offer you our hand in friendship and a defense alliance. Send that please, commander" said his Majesty.

After a few minutes of waiting, the Narn Ships and crew studied the human language files and the basic anatomy images that were sent. After their brief surprise at the resemblance they bore to the humans, they also realized that there wasn't any type of genetic link to the Centauri other than appearance. They opened another channel, this time in Basic English "I'm war leader Shan'Tal and I hope I'm addressing His Majesty King Antony of Earth."

"You are, Shan Tal. We are honored to see you and to understand you." "We have a staging base in this area and when we saw how many ships you destroyed and captured and then you released some, that is the part that has us worried that this is a trap."

"Shan'Tal, I can inform you that there is a reason for this. We hoped to find the Narn in our fight against the Centauri. Yes, we don't need the help, but it never hurts to have friends, and the ships are being rebuilt to scout your home system. Once we have all the information we need, we will attack with a fleet larger than that of the Centauri" said His Majesty.

"Shan'Tal your ships look like they need some repairs. We have space in our repair hangers if you wish to repair your vessels." "They do indeed need repairs, but my commanders don't want to risk our troops in case it's a trap, if you understand. Your people do look like the double down Centauri."

"Then how can we earn your trust then my friend?" replied His Majesty. "A gift would be nice show us how you get the information from them without them killing them selves first."

"Shan Tal, I'm what you call a mind walker and by the looks of it a very powerful one; and yes, Shan'Tal, I can read your mind and that of your entire crew. I see their fears and their hopes. I can and will make all your people's dreams come true, and, for your fears, I can't help there, except to guide you as you face them."

At this point thirty-seven jump points opened up all around the Throne ship and they all hailed at the same time in English. "Your Majesty, this is commodore Canine. Our sensors show unidentified warships around the Throne Ship. Do you need us to charge weapons and launch fighters?"

"Negative, Canine. These are the Narn that I've been searching for since learning all about them." "Sir, we have Shan'Tal on com channel for you, asking permission to come aboard. He also wants to bring some guards with him." "Yes, by all means you may bring who or what you want. I have a gift for you, or more like I do now" laughed His Majesty.

"War leader, you are probably the last member of the Government still alive, and never mind our military. You can't go without enough protection. They say they are friends, but if they are, why do they use Centauri warships? They are far more inferior than what our ships were to the Centauri."

"They claim to have a reason and all we can do is wait and see what that reason might be." "Now welcome aboard the RGS Throne Ship" said Admiral Von Koyster as he greeted all of the Narn delegation and Commodore Canine.

The com station started buzzing with major activity. Both His Majesty and Von Koyster spun around, looking and waiting to see what was going on. Von Koyster stood up and walked to the Com station to see for himself. Then His Majesty formed a more serious look on his face and activated his person computer. "Com Officer, get me Admiral Hanson 89th Advanced Tactical fleet, if you please" requested His Majesty.

"Herbert, my Com Officer is going to send you some co-ordinates. I want you to go to them and start jamming every possible signal coming into that area. When you have sorted that, I'm ordering you and your full fleet into action. The pirate problem we've been having has been traced back to there." Von Koyster and the com officer both looked as they hadn't informed His Majesty verbally about it.

"In the data file we are sending you will be all the data our advanced scouts got before they were forced to jump out and run to safety. I will tell you now that during their last raid, they took prisoners. If the information we got from the likes of the Sh'Lassan's is accurate, they will be turned into slaves. I don't have to remind you that my family takes a strong stance against slavery. We have never allowed slavery, and we won't stand back and allow others to make our people into slaves" his Majesty said sternly.

"Your majesty, what force level are you allowing me to use? I know it's a very daft question, but I would like to know" replied Admiral Hanson. "Use whatever force you see fit. I don't want our people to die in this action, so use maximum stealth and show no mercy to them. The reports show there are several major battle stations there and lots of ships, so please capture every station and as many ships as possible." ordered His Majesty.

The channel closed and Von Koyster walked over to his seat beside His Majesty and looked and waited for Antony to speak to him. "Stephan, I know I don't use my Psi abilities often, and you know I'm very strong on the Psi rating levels. I just saw red and acted on it when I read your mind, so if you think I went overboard on my orders, please say so now. I won't hold it against you" said His Majesty graciously.

"Sire, I don't hold it against you, either. I just think you were soft on the Centauri. If I were you, I would have brought us to war. That I know is wrong too and, deep down, I know you're right with the actions you have taken, Antony" said Stephan.

"Hanson to fleet: stand by to return to normal space. Our records we have show this area of space to be close to PakMara space, Drazi space and Corillani space. Fleet wide battle stations bridge, bring all weapons online and launch all fighters and bombers. Make sure you all fire your energy dampening weapons first. All ships, we jump in T-minus 30 for normal space" Ordered Hanson.

"CAG to bridge: all primary fighters and bombers fleet wide have launched. Three minutes for reserve craft to launch."

Aboard the Centauri Battle station, Homgald the sensor officer jumped from his seat. "I know why we lost communications" stated the sensor officer. "We have over twenty-one hundred jump points forming all around us and they are jamming our sensors already."

"That's not all. We can't get any type of weapons lock on them and they're firing some kind of dampening weapon that's powering down anything they hit in the fleet and the system. They've also hit four of the other stations and they've lost power now, too, sir" said the Homgald Battle station tactical officer.

"This is Admiral Dagmol of House Dagmol. We may now be a small House, but we are still the richest house. Move forward the Xon Dreadnought class. They are our biggest and most hard hitting ship in our whole fleet" ordered Admiral Dagmol.

"Sir do you wish to have your transport prepped so you can command the Xon Dreadnought into battle?" asked Commander WaSato his personal aid.

"No, but you can make the Xon Destroyer ready for launch and have its escort ready to launch straight away" ordered Admiral Dagmol.

Within seconds of his orders, the Homgald station was hit; not by a single dampening blast, but over thirty direct hits and over four hundred partially direct hits. The power started to fluctuate across the bridge and across the whole stations power grid and then there was complete darkness.

"Get emergency generators up and running!" shouted Admiral Dagmol.

"Do we have com?" shouted Commander WaSato.

"Negative" came his reply from an unfamiliar voice.

"Commander, take four men down to the generators and see if you can get power back up and running fast. Commander, take your side arm, as we could have visitors by now" ordered Admiral Dagmol. Seconds later, WaSato had left the command deck of Homgald station. The voice of Commander WaSato giving orders to blast through a sealed door was heard, and then Centauri PPG pistols and rifles were heard being fired.

"Well done, people. Let's move on to the next door and let's hope it's not sealed like this one was. Are we going to be doing this for weeks or until we get shot?" Then, a few seconds later, bright orange flashes were seen up ahead. Then each of the advancing Centauri soldiers were on the floor dead, shot by Human PPG sniper rifle shots at close and mid range direct hits.

A few seconds later the human team was at the door to the command deck. They turned on their pre-positioned high brightness lights and rolled further lights in and turned them on all at the same time.

"All weapons fire!" The order was given by the Commander Charles Davidson. Then all the Centauri dropped to the floor, victims of stun darts that knocked them out immediately.

Commander Davidson tapped his link and spoke into it.

"Admiral Hanson we have now captured the last station sir and how's the fire fight going out there sir?"

"Well done, Commander. The fight is over out here too, but those new ships gave us a stir. It took some hits to bring them down, but we captured them as well. His Majesty will be giving out medals and promotions for this, so well done for now, Davidson" replied Admiral Hanson.

"Com, open a channel to His Majesty aboard the Throne Ship, please and send a data file recording the battle and the assets we have now captured, if you will" asked Hanson.

"Sir, His Majesty waiting for you on Black channel one."

"Open it please, and viewer on."

"Hanson, my boy, well done. You have done me proud. The only question remaining is have you managed to free my citizens?"

"Yes, Sire, we have all of them and most are unharmed. Those few that have been harmed look as if they were… I can't say it sire. It's too horrific. I've enclosed their medical records. We also freed some Narns, mostly of Narn Military ranks and some from a race called the Drazi, and they too are from their military." informed Admiral Herbert.

"Herbert, take care of those women. Please make sure they get the best care we can give them and make sure a telepath pays them a visit to remove that unpleasant memory from them and that they get the image of their attackers."

"Sir, the Shâ Lassan linguistic officer has said that several of the Narn have pledged their lives to us as a life debt and the Drazi as well to all humans, especially you, sire" said Hanson.

"Admiral Hanson, this is Captain Shepherd. We have encountered a race that the Sh'Lassan isn't aware of, but a representative of it is speaking to one of our telepaths."

"Well what are they saying captain?"

"Sir, they wish to pay the debt to us by bringing to His majesty some of their military. They will answer to him personally. All they will need is for their ambassador to be in contact with His Majesty, being a telepath" reported Shepherd.

"What's their species name?" inquired Hanson.

"Their species are called the Gaim and they have very powerful warriors" replied Davidson.

"Sire did you hear all that?"

"Yes, my boy, I heard all of it. It looks like I'm going to have to pay you a visit fast. You're only two days away at best speed of my space Yacht, and I've already ordered the tenth Battle fleet to take over your role there in case I need an escort" replied Antony.

Two days later, His Majesty's Yacht came out of hyperspace at an even faster than normal velocity.

"Lieutenant Stark if you please, hail the Lady Jessica and put me through to Admiral Hanson."

"Sire, it's good to see you. We lost communications with your Yacht during transit. You had everyone worried."

"Well there was no need to worry. I'm here now and I'm still coming to terms with what your fleet captured, Admiral. Well, it won't be Admiral for much longer if you keep this up, and the war hasn't started yet" laughed his Majesty.

"Sire, your Yacht has permission to dock in the forward lower docking bay" replied Hanson.

The Yacht was docked by automated docking systems that allowed the crew to get ready for the arrival. King Antony stood behind four solid flanks of his personal guards what were as loyal to him as he was to them and to Earth. They also slowly walked forward as the door and ramp and stopped moving. Whistles started to flare up informing Antony that this was going to be a full state visit the type he hated so very much.

"Sire, welcome aboard the RGS Lady Jessica. It was named after one of your family's ancestors."

"Thank you, Admiral. It's good to be aboard a ship with such strong ties for me, and I know each and everyone aboard will serve her as well as Lady Jessica Herself served others" replied His majesty to Admiral Hanson and the assembled crew.

"Everyone, I'm sorry I don't have time to speak to each and every one of you personally. However, I have a data crystal for each and every one of you and a medal for most of you, a promotion for some, and two gifts: one of cash and the other a surprise" informed his majesty.

His Majesty's delegation moved off and out of the hanger, heading to the Gaims chambers to speak to the Ambassador first. They stopped outside the room that had been given to the Ambassador. Lieutenant Commander Roberts pressed the door buzzer to inform the Ambassador that his Majesty was there.

"You may enter" said the Ambassador via his translator device.

"I'm honored to be here" said his majesty.

"May the Queens be with you, Human king Antony. We wish to link minds for a short time so the Queens can match your brain patterns to your guards, we are giving you as reward for freeing us from great pain and suffering at the hands of evil Centauri" explained the Ambassador.

"Is there anything that I can give to your people as a gift of thanks and bond of friendship between our races?" asked his Majesty.

"There is nothing you can give us now except the start of knowledge for space travel, if that's in your ability to give" answered the Ambassador.

"It is in my power, and I was going to give your people some of the Centauri ships we captured so you can do with them as you wish, but I hope you learn from them" explained Antony.

"We will new friend we will learn from them. May the Queens be upon you Human King Antony. It's time that I rest. The link with your mind has made me very tired" explained Ventox the Gaim Ambassador.

"Then we shall go and make plans to head to your world" replied Antony. Then he walked out of the room and made way to Admiral Hanson to make plans for the transport of sixty of the captured Centauri warships.

Three days later, His Majesty's Yacht came out of Hyperspace in orbit around the Gaim home world. They started to hail the surface and within a short time the Gaim replied. Their reply was short but to the point; a set of landing co-ordinates what could support the weight and size of this ship. The arrival of outsiders brought shock to the Gaim, but the Queens calmed them down, especially when they were told that their promised ships had also just dropped out of hyperspace.

Ventox walked onto the bridge of the Yacht and spoke straight away

"The queens are waiting for you, Human King Antony. They know your time is short and that you need to get back to defeat the evil Centauri enslavers of whole races."

"As you wish, Ventox. You may lead the way. My body will allow me to breathe in your atmosphere for some time before it hurts me" replied Antony.

Two hours later the Gaim warriors and their Officers were back on board the ship. They were slowly followed by His Majesty and Ventox, who was made a personal advisor to the Queen for king Antony. Ventox was still in shock with what he was told about the abilities of these Guards and they were there to protect King Antony.

"Ventox, you look rather perturbed. You've hardly said anything since we left the Queens chambers. Your Queens did ask for me to show them just what I could do" laughed Antony.

Two days later, a total of seven days had passed since His Majesty departed their staging area aboard his Yacht. He arrived back at the Earth main Staging area in Epsilon Eridani Star system.

"Captain Davidson, can you please send your report back to Earth and Strategic defense command regarding the Centauri military base in Homgald system? I want it to act as a secondary staging ground when it's fully converted over to our weapons and armor requirements."

Five weeks passed and during this time scouting missions were carried out and Earth Fleets near Centauri space conducted long range scans daily, making sure nothing had changed. The Narn Fleet was fully repaired and modified with the gift of Gravimetric enhanced engines and reactors: a small gift from Earth to prove their word as friends. Shan'Tal was given command of the first thirty-seven rebuilt Centauri Primus Battle cruisers.

Von Koyster was sitting at a conference table with His Majesty and several other Earth Admirals, who were commanding fleets what would be sent into Narn Space. Shan'Tal even showed the systems that their government had never claimed as a buffer zone around their space.

"Now that we are all present, may we get this final pre liberation war under way?" said Shan'Tal.

"Yes, Shan'Tal. We are just waiting the latest from your home world so we can choose which systems to strike in what order" replied Von Koyster.

"Please everyone, my plan is to try and draw forces off from Narn so we can take it without losing too many ships and soldiers" explained His Majesty.

"It's about time. The latest intelligence reports Sire have confirmed Narn has been fortified, or it's in the process of being fortified with battle stations. Looks like it was wise to try and get some of the Centauri away from Narn. There are hundreds of missile cruisers" informed Von Koyster.

"The battle plans don't change and we can leave in thirty minutes, unless there's anything else we need to discuss" inquired His Majesty.

"Yes, Your Majesty. There's one other point. Our scans of Narn showed Resistance com chatter, so I would recommend sending a team to make contact with them to aid the ground mission. They may have some way of keeping planetary reinforcements down to zero as well" answered Von Koyster.

"I will make sure your men will be welcomed. I will send three teams of my guard down with your men when you make contact, and I will see if I can get through to them as well. But if that fails, take a Centauri prisoner with you and hand him over to them. That will show you mean them no harm" said Shan'Tal.

The scans showed the best locations to launch the First Earth Alliance counter attack. The Royal Guard arrived with the requested thirty fleets and ninety support fleets. While the fleet commanders were being briefed by His Majesty's staff on their mission, admiral Von Koyster was being informed of the location of their first trip and that was to gain the support from the main Centauri Slave worlds the name that race was Narn.

The loud speakers sounded off with a female computer voice all over the Throne Ship.

"_All hands, prepare to enter hyperspace in T-minus eleven minutes. All visitors please make their way to their transports as fast as you can."_

The message was repeated every minute without fail until the final transport had left and the final pre-hyperspace jump. Then, the computer said _"Last transport has departed. All hands, battle stations. Seal all bulkheads. Prepare anti-boarding parties. All personnel, make sure your side arms are fully charged. T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four…Jump engines engage. All ships stay in formation and best speed to Narn."_

I'm sorry this was even longer than my first chapter. However, I will be posting Part two of chapter two very soon. The Liberation of Narn.

With great thanks to Susan Hilton for her hard work on making this chapter so readable and for all the hard work for this storey.

THE CENTAURI WAR WILL TAKE PLACE OVER THREE CHAPTERS.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two, part two. The Liberation of Narn.

The EAS Throne Ship was the toughest warship in service and it carried enough fighters and bombers to take on hundreds of full fleets. Von Koyster was no fool. He ordered a full battle squadron of fighters and bombers to escort the Throne Ship through hyperspace. They bypassed as many of the Centauri monitoring satellites as they could as they moved ever closer to the Narn Home world. Von Koyster knew this wouldn't be easy, unless the plans set in motion to drag the Centauri forces away to the borders would work. The Throne ship activated its hyper drive system and opened a jump vortex to return them to normal space. Centauri forces buzzed around, trying to engage the human warship.

The mighty Earth Alliance Armada sat waiting in hyperspace near the Narn Home system; also Quadrant 15, Beta 4, Dorac, Quadrant 37 and Sigma 957. The minor fleets had been sent to other lesser-known systems to act as a diversion for the primary attacks. They would happen in phases to allow greater effect on Centauri morale. They were trying to force the Centauri to protect those systems that had more meaning to some houses, and splitting their loyalties and their forces.

"Now that my forces are in place, do you think we should start to launch fighters and bombers and load the reserves up? Or do you think it's a bit early, since we haven't heard from our diversionary forces yet" asked His Majesty to Admiral Von Koyster.

"Well, Sire, we should attack them now. The longer we stay in hyperspace the better chance they have of detecting us. We are rather a large group of ships and we can't hide forever" replied Von Koyster.

"Com put me on fleet wide intercom, if you will please. Fleet this is Antony your king speaking to you from the bridge of my Throne Ship. We stand with you all today on the brink of what will change the course of Human history. However we fight today, we fight for the freedom of the Narn Race and our race from Centauri raids. We have beaten them on several occasions now, but this time its "road changing" as one of my teachers told me as a child. If we fight gallantly this day, we will win and change the standing of our people in the eyes of other galactic powers, small and large. Good luck and I will see you all in normal space."

"We're ready to enter normal space. Signal the fleet. Power to defense shields. Have reserve and secondary reactors standing by and start charging backups and auxiliary. We jump in five seconds… jump!" ordered Von Koyster.

All ships at the same moment in time throughout the Narn system jumped to normal space. They started firing on targets at the moment they entered the vortexes. Some waited until they returned to normal space for a visual sighting of Centauri ships, where they started to open fire into the massed Centauri fleet. Some of their ships were taking many hits and they were exploding while others took fewer hits and remained intact.

"Order the fleet to separate into battle groups and start hunting down the enemy at will" ordered His Majesty. The Centauri ships, by most races, were very advanced. By human standards, they were somewhat obsolete. Even with the best ships Earth had to offer, the Centauri were flinging their best at them and failing each time.

"Admiral, are you sure these ships we are engaging are the very best these Centauri have?" asked His Majesty.

"Yes, Sire, these are the best they have, and I'm aware that these are just the first generation of Earth ships, but I do claim it's the Throne Ship that makes this look easy" replied Von Koyster.

"Communications, if you please. Send launch orders to Marshall Patton. Have him destroy all the Centauri forces in the Ragesh system. Then send orders to Marshall Lloyd to attack and destroy all Centauri forces in Quadrant 37. Send this to both parties. These systems are not ours. They belong to the Narn. Liberate them of all Centauri life forms. Send those orders now" said His Majesty.

"You'd better get Marshall Bowie to destroy all Centauri forces in Sigma Sector and to set up a mobile defense platform at Sigma 957. Make sure it can build its own auxiliary craft for patrols as well" ordered His Majesty.

"Attach data plans for the Sigma sector as well. It's key to our growth in that Majesty, I recommend that we attack the Dorac system. It will help with our deep space attacks on them. Sire, what about the remaining diversionary attacks? Are we holding them back in case the Centauri manage to surprise us with a massive counter attack?" asked Von Koyster.

"Stephan, my friend, it looks like you know me better than you let on. That is exactly what I'm doing. I'm holding those back just in case. If they are not needed now, then we will use them when we have done all we can here. Those tactics will allow us time to move on to the next objectives" replied His Majesty.

"Have the hyperspace probes picked up anything on scans? I don't want to get caught with my trousers down" said Von Koyster.

"Flight deck, prep all of our Epsilon class and Cronos class ships and set them for deep patrol in hyperspace. Make sure we are jamming all wave bands and frequencies too" ordered His Majesty.

Captain Commons of the lead Epsilon class was moving his forces into formation when his orders came through from Von Koyster.

"Jack, your standing orders are basic and simple. Watch our backs for Centauri reinforcements and set up sensor probes in hyperspace for early warning. We don't know what forces could be lurking around there, so be careful. Von Koyster out."

"You heard the orders, people. Get set for hyperspace. We are watching the fleets' back door and setting up early warning probes. Engineering, is the vortex drive charged? If so, step on it" ordered Commons. "CAG, launch all fighters and bombers with full weapons loaded as well, as soon as we are in Hyperspace."

"Communications officer, open a channel to the Narn Resistance movement and make sure any Centauri site that tries to jam us gets hit hard; and I mean hard" said His Majesty.

"Sire, we have a response coming in and it's on the list of known Narn Names. He claims to be Tra-vel, the Supreme Leader of the Narn Resistance Forces. He's their last known Monarch" announced the com officer.

"Let's hear him. VenRol, have you ever heard or seen this Tra-vel? If yes, would you be able to recognize him?" asked His Majesty. VenRol just nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will know him."

"Open a channel so we can both confirm his identity" said His Majesty. "We won't have time for a long greeting, but the best I can suggest is a "meet and greet", planet side. I will bring some Narn Guards and my senior bridge officers, as well as my own personal guard, if that's OK with everyone. I will have some air support overhead, keeping the Centauri from getting too close."

"Human, you took the words right out of my mouth. I can't wait to see such a brave person face to face on my soil" replied Tra-vel.

"We will be leaving my Throne Ship soon, Tra-vel, when the rest of my opening pieces are in place. I've drawn away Centauri forces from here to other systems in fake attacks. My proper attack was the Liberation of Narn. Soon ShanTal will be in the system; then soon my third pieces will arrive. We will have victory. My space forces will deal with all things here while on planet side, I will help clear up all things down there" said His Majesty and then burst into laughter.

General Potter walked onto the bridge, looking around for Von Koyster. It didn't take long to find him.

"Now Stephan, we are going to launch and get the ground mission under way, as my marines want action and pay back. I've got the Tigers and Vulcans ready to start their bombing mission. I just need the word to start it off" said Potter.

"You may start the planetary bombing runs now and clear a path for the transport to make their landing" said Von Koyster.

"The Royal flight will take enough troops to secure the main landing zones, so the main Marine transports can land in force and bring about greater equipment deployments" replied Potter.

"Well then, we can't leave yet, but we are leaving soon. Ready your transports for the first wave landing" ordered His Majesty, who had just finished reading a message from a decoy deployment.

"Sir, we have just received a message from Marshall Bowie" reported the com officer.

"Transfer the report to my console, Lieutenant" ordered Antony. His Majesty activated his console and started to read it. "There's zero visible Centauri presence in that sector, and they have started to set up mobile makeshift Space stations. They did pick up a strange sensor reading in Sigma 957 system, and we will be dispatching several Orion class stations to that system for monitoring while we start to construct an Inca class defense station."

"Get the fighters to clear a path for the transport. Get the bombers to strike the ground targets to wipe out the ground defenses to decrease the risks while the transport is heading to the surface" ordered Von Koyster. "We have to make sure there is maximum protection and that we deploy as many precautions as we can to protect His Majesty."

The star furies were more than a match for any fighter in service now. The Royal Tiger star fury Variant carried two anti matter pulse cannons what were strong enough to destroy a Centauri fighter with a single shot. While the Vulcan carried an all new type of weapon, a Fire ball cannon, two hits from a bomber could destroy any Centauri ship in service. The Throne Ship fired into the massed fleet of Centauri Warships, only to see them get destroyed with little regard to sentient life. Their weapons fire couldn't even breach the gravimetric shielding, and when a stray shot passed through it,it went straight into the nanite shield system. The Vulcan and Tiger fury crews were having fun as their ships were fitted with an artificial quantum singularity, giving them lots of power for their weapon systems and for the gravimetric shield they carried.

King Antony was sitting on his command chair, watching his visual display of the fighters and bombers engaging Centauri forces at their own pleasure. "Run blocking forces ahead of the tasks and make ready for new arrivals" ordered His Majesty. To keep the capital ships off balance, the Vulcan heavy bombers were zigzagging their way to them; all the time firing their missiles, forcing the Centauri to lower fire on the Throne Ship.

Centauri fighters tried to attack a lone Starfury, only to see it do its vertical trade mark climb and fly straight into reverse and engage them. Nine Centauri fighters were taken out by that simple maneuver, and the Centauri weren't able to beat them

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it looks like we have fighter and bomber superiority. We can claim aerial superiority now, and in any dog fight, we can beat them within the first thirty minutes" claimed His Majesty proudly. "Have escorts fleets nine and seventeen move on those targets. We need to capture all their defense stations under construction, and disable all the remaining ones that are intact. Keep the Narns informed" ordered His Majesty.

The ninth escort fleet started to move on the defense stations under construction while the seventeenth had the more dangerous role to engage the ones still fully operational.

"Tactical, help out the seventeenth escort fleet. Fire dampening weapons to support them and stand by to aid with support marines" ordered Von Koyster.

"Never mind that Stephan, but good thinking. The main thorn in our sides is that asteroid field. For all we know, there could be a trap waiting for us there. Have the 4th Royal Guard fleet scout and secure that area I don't want any unforeseen back fires on us" ordered His Majesty.

"Sir the 4th Royal Guard Fleet has acknowledged your orders and are moving on them now" reported the duty com officer.

Aboard the 4th Royal Guard Fleet flag ship, King Henry:

"Sensors to full. Let me see what's got His Majesty in this tizzy. Tactical, arm all missiles as well. Com, inform CAG that I want my fighters and bombers ready to drop in 5 minutes" ordered Fleet Admiral Cookson.

"Admiral, Sensors are picking up several hundred ships, and they all seem to be carrying Mass Drivers as the ShLassan military call them" reported Lieutenant Commander Smith.

"Tactical, fire a third of our missiles into their ranks. Sensors to full power and start jamming their Hyperspace generators" ordered Cookson.

Back on Centauri Prime, in the Emperor's Throne Room stood the entire Centaurum.

"Now people, who has the guts to explain to me why I have been awakened at this time of day" demanded the Emperor a bit irritably. Everyone in the room froze, glancing anxiously at each other to see who had the bravest face, but they just stood there looking dumb. "I'm waiting, you ingrates! I'm not known for lots of patience. Speak before I start to order heads on silver plates!" Lord Mollari finally gathered up enough courage to answer.

"My Most Noble of Emperors, it's my gravest of duties to inform you that the race who has been attacking us has finally declared war on us. With what we have managed to translate, it's due to us attacking their King and leader. They wish us to know that they can and will attack us if we show any further aggression."

"It also looks like,Your Majesty, they have amassed a large fleet and are attacking every single bordering system of ours. I don't know if this is true, but they have also started to attack the Barbarians' home world of Narn" said Lord Refa.

"What do you mean you're not positive regarding Narn, Lord Refa? That planet and their former holdings are rich in materials that we need to keep our Republic growing" demanded The Emperor.

"Sire, if Narn falls to these usurpers, I will turn myself in for torture and execution" said Lord Refa.

"Well, Lord Refa, if that happens, you will know what pain is and I will have great pleasure in watching you scream and beg for my mercy. Now, as you know, mercy will depend on my moods and what damage you might have set loose against us" said The Emperor. "Well then, we must teach these infidels what they are facing. We are the oldest space faring race outside the Minbari, and the mighty Minbari won't attack us. We will teach these infidels the meaning of destruction and how to die. Find me their home world. Let's unleash the Gods of war against them and watch their home burn" ordered The Emperor.

"As for now, I want the shipyards and factories set to war footing. This will allow us to replace our fleet losses at an increased rate" ordered Emperor Temgaron.

"Are there any techno-mages in the Palace? I need their council. If there are none, send out a message to all the corners of the Republic and ask them if I can have an audience with them. If they wish payment, they can ask their own fees, within reason" declared Emperor Temgaron.

Lord Voosh, the senior techno-mage On Centauri Prime, was aware of the Emperor's wish to see him or another member of his delegation to the Royal Court. However, when he said no, there was no living technomadge around who would argue with him. Voosh summoned the leaders of his order to see if they could tell him more about the changes to their path and their vision of the future.

"My fellow 'mages, I need our total order on this. What can we do to get the road back to the path of Earth, being they are far weaker and not under their present path? Yes, we need Earth to be strong, but not so strong that they could destroy all the younger races like the First Ones could. We have to push them back to the road we have forged for them. Our road, in time, will drive the Ancients away and leave us to explore the harmony of the Universe. We must find, if possible, the path that changed the Humans future or all our plans will fail" said Lord Voosh.

There was a knock on the door to Tachman Voosh's aid's room. Voosh's right hand advisor, Tachman started to walk closer to the door. He heard the Centauri guards charge their massive PPG rifles. He began to conjure a spell to protect himself and the neighboring area. Then the guardsmen kicked the door in. As soon as they did, they all were flung back with great force from Tachman's defense enchantment.

"Never get wizards angry. State your message and leave while you still can, you poor loyal fools" growled Tachman. Then one of the Guards moved to raise his rifle. He was shocked to see a demon fly at him. It started to eat his weapon. "You will state why you're here and why my pet sensed danger and started to make your weapon its mid day meal."

"My Noble Emperor wishes to speak to your master, Lord Voosh. Emperor Temgaran wishes to see the future of his line and the future of the greater Republic."

"What if my master refuses to go or doesn't wish to help? asked Tachman.

"Then we will be forced to take you all with us in any way possible" replied a guardsman.

"It seems that we have no option." Tachman said with a sigh. "Very well. Inform your Majesty that Lord Voosh will see him, but not today. It will have to be tomorrow. He will be in mediation with our order's leaders and elders. However, if this mediation takes longer, I will send a word to let your Emperor know via a holographic message."

Malko looked at Tachman in astonishment, and then replied Thank you and we are sorry that we came with guns, ready to arrest you. We hope that you find it in your heart to forgive us all."

'_This is madness. It__'__s too easy__'_ thought Von Koyster. _'__Their ships are just no clear threat to us, but, yet, they still try._ _This is just a sheer waste of life. They have to know that can__'__t hurt us. This must be a Centauri honor thing, where they line up in front of our guns, hoping we run out of energy first.__'_

Antony looked back at Stephan and smiled, reading his thoughts and nodded at him with agreement.

Aboard the Vanltorn one of the last Centauri Battlecruisers in the Narn system:

"Captain, these ships are cutting us to pieces, and we can't manage to get past their defense barrier. It's far stronger than the Minbari system."

"Yes, and the limited information we have on their technology shows these ships don't suffer from the same defect as the Minbari ships" added the Vanltron's tactical officer, Lieutenant Lattco.

"Sensor officer, has ShanTal arrived at his jump location? As soon as his ships jump to normal space, launch missiles into their fleets. I want them gone fast" ordered Von Koyster. "Now please tell me that they have been able to send a message out during the opening attack sequences" inquired Von Koyster.

"Yes, Admiral, they managed to send an emergency transmission to Centauri Prime with a visual, showing the Throne Ship obliterating their ships. Then we jammed the transmission as ordered, sir."

"Captain, the gods are smiling down on us this day. I'm picking up seven hundred and sixty-eight Primus class battle cruisers in hyperspace, and they will be in jump distance in seconds" announced the Vanltorn Sensor officer.

"Now we can plan a massive counter attack. When they arrive, we will join with them and set them as our lead ships" ordered Captain Ralvom.

"Sire, ShanTal has sent us a message, letting us know that he has arrived at the jump location and that they have already deployed his fighters" said the com officer.

"Open a channel to ShanTal. If he doesn't reply, request information of the deployment of his Narn Fleet as well" ordered His Majesty.

"Jump points are forming. There are over seven hundred of them, and they're all around us!" gasped the sensor officer.

"Helm, set course and have the remains of the fleet set up on those ships as new lead ships" said Captain Ralvom.

"Sire, ShanTal has just arrived, and the Centauri have moved on them to use them as their main thrust in the counter attack" said Lieutenant Stevens, duty Tactical officer.

"All forward batteries, increase fire rate by fifty percent. Helm, take us in closer to the enemies" ordered His majesty. "Don't worry about the foolish Centauri, Stevens. They won't be fooled by that trick next time. However, next time we will have more fleets ready to do battle with the Centauri."

Aboard the Vanltorn, they were reeling from explosions hitting their ships.

"What's hitting us now?" demanded Ralvom.

"Sir, the gods are well and truly against us. It's our own ships. They're firing on us, and the last hit has taken out the last of our weapons."

Before he had a chance to say anything else, there was a bright flash of light, and the Vanltorn was no more. Within seconds, the last remaining ships in the Vanltorn group suffered the same fate.

"Communications, open a channel to Yetta Von-der-Tan. Yetta, it's time, my friend. I need you now and I want these Centauri hot and bothered like never before" requested His Majesty.

"Sire, sensors show a massive jump point opening. It's the Camelot, our sister ship" said Lieutenant Commander Jones, duty Sensor officer.

"Yetta, I need you to support ShanTal and his forces. I'm placing you in overall command. Stephan and I and several senior officers are heading planet side soon" informed His Majesty.

The com channel closed with a surprised look on Marshal Von-der-Tan's face, but she was never really surprised around His Majesty.

"Commodore Canine you are as up to date as any of my flag officers aboard my Throne Ship. I'm placing you in command aboard her until I return, and you will take all orders from Marshall Von-der-Tan. I'm sorry to do this to you, but I'm needed on the surface. We need the help of the locals to win this" explained His Majesty.

"Yes,Your Majesty, but please take care down there" replied Canine.

"I'm taking my new Gaim body guards down there too, you know. I think they're going to be needed for this campaign" said His Majesty.

As soon as His Majesty had finished explaining everything, Admiral Von Koyster started to head to the doors to leave. "I'll follow you there, Stephan. I have some minor things that I have to deal with first" explained His Majesty. "Sensors officer, do you have the location of the landing zone correct?"

"Yes, Sire, we have the location" replied the sensor officer.

"Good. I need you to run a deep scan of the area for underground military bases and life signs in and around that area and have the information sent to me when you have it" ordered his Majesty.

Commodore Canine looked at Antony with worry on his face.

"Now my friend, you don't need to be worried. You only need to be worried if you get any scratches on my ship" laughed His Majesty.

"Not to worry, Sire. It won't get any more scratches apart from the ones you've caused" replied Canine.

"Commodore, before I leave the bridge, the ship is yours" said His Majesty and closed the lift doors before the Commodore could say anything else to stop his personal mission.

His Majesty made way to his personal chamber to get changed fast for this mission. He said he would need his walking staff on Narn. He had a feeling he was going to do some mountain climbing or mountain walking, at the least. He made sure to have the body armor the Gaim gave him as a gift, which would stop all forms of energy weapons from hurting him.

"All the Narn security teams should assemble in hanger bay three for the Escort Mission" said the voice of the CAG, coming over the Speaker system. "All duty escort fighters and bomber crews get to your ships because your escort mission is up, now. Good luck and I hope to get you all back safe and well" the voice of the CAG could be heard again over the speakers.

King Antony was walking to the hanger when his link went off.

"Your Majesty, you don't want the CAG to get angry with you at being late for your own mission." Commodore Canine just laughed instead of finishing his sentence.

"Inform the CAG I will be there in three minutes and to stop the harassing me, or I'll kick his butt. Better still, I'll have one of my body guards kick his scrawny little butt" laughed His Majesty.

"Well, that is one way to get him to scream" laughed the Commodore. "And, Sire, good luck down there." The com went off before His Majesty had time to reply.

To save some time, His Majesty tapped his staff on the floor and cast a minor teleportation incantation that sent him to his Transports office. Antony spoke to the computer. "Please show me the view of the 98th fighter squadron." It was commanded by a Major Thomas Sinclair, who just happened to be one of the best pilots in the entire Earth Alliance. His Majesty had hand picked and hand trained every pilot, so they were as close to his standard as anyone could get. The Centauri fighters were being ripped apart.

King Antony turned from his main viewer to a secondary viewer and opened a channel to the CAG officer and said "I want my transport prepped for launch and I want two marine transports ready as part of my escort guard groups as well, and two fighter squadrons and one bomber squadron, and ,of course, the 98th when these Centauri ships have been finished off."

The CAG replied saying "Your majesty, you will be placing yourself in mortal danger. I must protest."

King Antony replied "Your protest is noted, but my order stands… and CAG, please don't worry. They won't be able to see my ship to harm it. But on the ground, well, I do know how to fight, you know" laughed Antony before he moved to a com unit to relay this orders down the line. Once his personal shuttle was made ready its escort of atmospheric capable fighters and bombers were launched. They had, since the start of the brief fire fight in orbit, been in communication with the Narn Resistance leaders and had arranged to meet them at a location of their choice. During the communiqué, a data image of the entire party was sent to them, informing them that although they may look like Centauri, they were, in fact, Humans and shared no genetic traits with them.

"Computer, please upload all of my official paperwork from Earth and have it placed in a secure file so I can take it with me. Also update me on the mood of the military back on Earth and my people in general, especially the other royal families and my Governments. Thank you computer" said His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, there are no currant protests or concerns within the military or the Civilian populace of your Kingdom. However, there have been many recorded protests in Parliament and the Senate, but they were due to them claiming you hadn't taken enough fire power or military forces in general" replied the computer.

"That just shows they were slightly worried about me, but in a way, that's a part of their jobs and I bet they wished I wasn't at the front like this" replied His Majesty.

"There is no information regarding that on file" replied the computer. Antony started to walk to his chambers door to head for the transports.

Meanwhile aboard the Camelot, Marshal Von-der-tan was looking over the latest news and deployments of the Centauri forces that was remaining.

"Dispatch the ninth and seventeenth Escort Fleets to advance on the Centauri space stations. I want the ninth to concentrate all their efforts against those that are under construction and the seventeenth against the fully operational stations" ordered Marshal Von-der-tan.

After a short but rather bumpy flight from the Throne Ship, they made it to the Narn Atmosphere where they started getting shot at by Centauri anti aircraft defenses. The Royal Transport was designed to take more punishment than most warships and it came with its very own heavy defense grid. When brought online, it made sharp fast work of all the Centauri defense installations that were foolish enough to fire on it. The transport started to slow down to make ready for its landing in the predetermined locations set by the Narn resistance leaders.

"General, I'm just letting you know that my body guards will remain on the transports for now, but they will, in time, be brought off to help us in our mission down here. I don't know why, but they will come in very handy" ordered His Majesty.

"As you wish, Sire, but we should inform the Narn of them just in case they have a fear of anything that is that large and scary" replied General Potter.

On the Narn flagship Strokoth sat Warleader ShanTal.

"Well people, these ships have just lived through their first test and these Humans have made them stronger than what the Centauri could build and they increased weapon mounts as well."

Laughter started to ring around the bridge, singing the praise of Narn and their newfound Human Brothers and sisters.

"Warleader, we have a human shuttle requesting permission to dock. They say they are ferrying our liaison officer, a Commander Harold" said the communication officer.

"Let the ship land. I've been expecting it. This Commander is a relative of Admiral Von Koyster. That's all I know, but we will soon learn more" replied ShanTal.

The Commander was a bit surprised and nervous with how the Narns were looking at her. But with her high Psi rating, this kept her safe and aware of the feelings from everyone around her. She walked onto the bridge and spoke directly to ShanTal. "Warmaster ShanTal, I'm Commander Harold. I've been assigned to you as you liaison officer from Admiral Von Koyster."

ShanTal spun around on hearing a human female voice and realizing where it was coming from, surprised him that this human female was very appealing to look upon.

The human delegation was met with armed Narns, glaring very angrily at all of the delegation. King Antony stepped forward and said in a very calming manner: "I am what you call a mind walker and I'm here now to help your liberation effort against your slave masters, the Centauri, who now will be getting a delayed transmission from me to their imperial court. What it says doesn't matter for today, but when my fellow delegation members and I prove their trust to you, then you will see what the message says."

His Majesty cleared his voice and asked his men to send out a patrol to check out the local Centauri and see what mischief they could get into. "My troops wish to get in the middle of the ground campaign. On our descent, we flew over several Centauri military staging areas close to here and I would hate for them to cause us problems, so with your permission Tra-vel" asked His Majesty.

"Of course, King Antony. Your men can deal with the Centauri however you see fit" said Tra-vel.

"Thank you, Captain. Please bring back several prisoners for interrogation" ordered His Antony cleared his voice and spoke again. "Now gentlemen, or are you ladies… my apologies if I've insulted you. Can we get down to business on what the Narn people need? Do you need side arms, body armor, medical supplies anything you need if we can get it, it's yours."

The senior Narn at the meeting rose to his feet and said "Food… we need food and water. How fast can you get a sample of that for us?"

General Potter replied for the delegation and said how about straight away. Corporal opened the box labeled food rations. The tall Narn VrenOg who spoke first ordered one of his men to get a pack of rations as the humans called them. The Narn then went to open it and stopped only for General Potter to ask what it was they had, and the corporal said

"It's Swedish meat balls, sir."

The Narn looked at the Human only to see him sit down with the same ration as he had and opened it and tasted it and invited the other Narn to try it. Only for the Narn to scream "It's Breen! How do you Earthers have Narn food?"

Aboard The RGS Camelot, Marshall Von-der-Tan was laughing at how easy these Centauri ships were being destroyed. "Helm, have both the throne ship and ourselves advance on the remaining Centauri ships. Fire all weapons at maximum rate, if you please. The bombers have done their job with brilliant efficiency. Have all fighters and bombers return to the barns for a quick recharge and reload. Make sure we rotate our gun crews as we are going to need them rested" ordered the Marshall.

Back on Centauri Prime, Lord Voosh had come out of his meditation trance and his first words were to summon all the 'mages on Centauri Prime. "They will meet in the Royal Court right away as they have to speak to the Emperor have to get these fools to stop their war. If we don't, these Humans will gain so much power that the Centauri will be forced into the hands of the Dark ones" declared Voosh.

Some time later, twenty 'mages appeared in the meeting room of the royal court.

"You would think the Emperor would be willing to see us even if it's at short notice" grumbled Mordock the elder of the group. Four Centauri guards walked to them.

"The Emperor will see you now and you must not conjure anything unless given permission, or you all will be shot. And we won't be stopped by holo-demons. Are you all clear on what I said, 'mages?" asked Captain Tolkien.

Back in orbit above Narn, the ninth boarding forces were heading to what their scans had shown to be the station's command and control. The techs were moving to every single computer they could find to see if they could confirm that they were indeed on the CNC level.

"Commander, inform Marshal Von-der-tan that we have secured a Val Dor class defense station. Scans show it's still got all its fighters. Due to a malfunction in the hangar bay doors, they seemed to have jammed and locked in the closed position" commented Captain Johnson.

"Now where's my quarter master?" asked Admiral Jane Seymour. The quarter master came running in.

"You wanted to see me, Admiral?"

"Yes. Can you please get the information on ETAs regarding spare weapons and newer and better reactors for this place?"

"Well, now that the Centauri forces have been destroyed, we should be able to get the weapons and reactors in place within eighteen hours, Admiral."

" Then, son, if you can do that, you will earn yourself a single day's shore leave. Do it faster and you'll get more" said the Admiral.

"Lieutenant, can you please get me Warmaster ShanTal?"

"You can cancel that" said ShanTal, walking in with Commander Harold at his side.

"My scans show the reactors aren't working fully."

"Yes, I know. I've ordered them replaced and spare Centauri weapons fitted for you aboard this station" Said Jane.

Elsewhere in the Galaxy, on the Vorlon Home world, the Vorlons were starting to see patterns where confusion lay regarding the Humans. They just couldn't understand why the Humans had started to stray from their path as guardians to the path of slave masters. This change was bringing the worst out in the Vorlons, who had for a long time seeded Earth with the galaxy's strongest telepaths and empaths. They summoned their leaders; the eldest of all the Vorlons to discuss the events what were unfolding among the young race called Humans.

Kosh was the loudest voice protecting Earth. A part of him wished the ancient conflict with the Shadows was finally over, and he had placed all his hopes in their future. The others knew that he wanted the Humans to survive, so they could try and bring the end to the age of the First Ones. They knew that he wouldn't do anything to cause the destruction of his own race.

All their thoughts were merging into one and searching for possible ways to answer the many questions that were burning in all their minds. Some voices called out the names of Ancient Darkness, The Hand of God. Silence struck the Vorlon Council. _'__The Hand had nothing to do with this._ _If it did, the Humans would have been slaughtered and we would have been attacked head on by the Shadows._ _They could be making them all into thralls of their own to use against us and our oldest child race.__'_

Then above all the stray thoughts there formed a combined single voice of reason.

'_Then if we stand here in doubt, then a mission to Earth we must embark on. We could send a messenger to the Minbari asking them to send a delegation on our behalf, pleading with them to stop their rampaging ways.__'_

'_NO!__'_ screamed the council in unison. _'__We cannot ask our oldest child to do this. We must send another. We could send Sebastian back to his home to see if he can reason with them.__'_

On Zâhadum, the lone Shadow guardian walked the hollow empty buildings that he had helped to build and grow. Know that his waking time was coming to an end he wished the next guardian had less to do, but Transdraculoom knew he still had work to get in motion.

He entered the chamber with the Shadows Great Eye of the Universe. It saw all and knew all, and knew the future as well. He started to talk to the great machine, asking it what had drawn his attention and what race was on the verge of extinction. The eye moved on the planet of Centauri Prime and stated that this was the one on the verge of extinction. Then, it moved away and showed him another planet. This time it was Earth. Transdraculoom asked the machine who this race was and how it could defeat such an old race and the machine moved off from Earth to yet another planet; this time Narn. Transdraculoom knew this planet, as he was on it during the last Great War with the others.

Transdraculoom watched the machine take him through the events from the Centauri's first disastrous first contact with Earth to how Earth had moved in and captured many of the Centauri warships and used them to spy on them and to scout out major targets. He then saw the Centauri Emperor send a delegation of Techno-mages to Earth, but that's when the great machine closed down. He knew that the others were watching the same thing and he knew the Vorlons and their righteous ways will have their own plans for them.

As Transdraculoom was deep in thought, in walked councillor Shaldor of the Drakh.

"Master, you seemed perplexed" observed Shaldor.

"No, Shaldor, I'm in deep thought of the now and the future" replied Transdraculoom. "While you are here,Shaldor, you will go and wake up Justin. We have a mission for him that requires him to return to his home world of Earth" said Transdraculoom.

Shaldor looked at his master, wanting to ask a question, but was thinking how to phrase it.

"My master, that world has meaning to us. Didn't we send a mission to that system and they never came back?" asked Shaldor.

"Yes, Shaldor. You are right. That is why I'm reflecting on my options. There are too few of us here and far too few awake to help, so we must wait and slowly grow and get our pieces into place, and then we can spread evolution" replied Transdraculoom.

The Kirishic Lords who had supposedly left Earth Space were indeed still there and watching the movements of all the races, young and old, with the simple goal of making sure that their protectorate of Earth was safe from all types of harm. They kept in regular contact with several of Earths military and His Majesty King Antony.

"Council members, please may I have your attention? The three main parties in this and future conflicts are dispatching an envoy to Earth in the vain hopes of keeping Earth as their pets" laughed Vanrik.

"So we will also send an envoy to Earth. I wish to have a team ready to leave within this day's cycle" ordered their council Leader.

"The Centauri are sending a Techno-mage; as to the Vorlons, I would expect them to send an agent like an Inquisitor; and, for the Shadows, they will probably send someone who is skilled at deception" stated the Council Military Advisor.

The fighting was getting rather more intense, now that the Humans had started to move in to point blank ranges so they could do more damage to the Centauri orbital defenses and warships.

"Get me the lead escort battle fleet Admiral, please. I think it's Admiral Howe" ordered Von-der-Tan.

"Ah, David I'm Glad it's you. I need you to move your battle fleet away from this system and keep it in Hyperspace so you can't be discovered and stay off the beacons. When the Centauri pass you by, I would like you to follow them and destroy them in the middle of their fleet." Yetta said.

"It will be my greatest of pleasures, Yetta. I have wanted to see the outcome of a fleet engagement like that against them since they attacked His Majesty" replied Admiral Howe.

While back on the surface of Narn, his Majesty got to his feet and said "It's a mystery of the heavens that may or may not be unraveled in time. So I take it that this Breen you will accept as food. What of our other food stocks we have?"

"Get me the quarter master and inform our eyes in the sky to expand their search for Centauri life forms only. If we agree to terms now, I'll have mobile ship yards sent here straight away to start working on Narn Space craft. The Centauri attacked me directly and I ripped every gram of information out of their minds before they left my presence." At this moment a captain of the guard came in, begging a pardon for his intrusion, but saying that a guard patrol had captured an-entire Centauri patrol. He thought they might wish to talk to them.

All the Narn Yelled and screamed, making the translation devices of the Earth Alliance work very hard to keep up with them.

"Now please, my fellow friends don't forget that I am what you Narn call a mind walker. When they communicate, it looks as if I'm just talking with them, but in reality, I'm just gathering information."

King Antony walked to the door and was escorted by a senior Narn, who wanted to see the joys of this kind of interrogation. After about a half an hour, screams of pain were starting to be heard from the room the Narn and King Antony went into. Within the next twenty minutes or so, they were walking out, both of them laughing at what had gone on in that closed room. King Antony addressed the room.

"With the information gathered from the interrogation, I would like the permission of the Narn resistance leaders to launch a raid on the Centauri's leading military bases on Narn. I also want all the captured technology and equipment handed over straight away to you to use as you see fit."

The Narn leaders whispered together and then the spokesperson said: "What's in it for you Earthers? All we want is peace and friendship with the Narn."

The Narn assigned what they thought were enough troops to the raids to watch the human forces in action. The raids went off perfectly, getting in behind them and capturing everything as the walls were breached. The Narns gained enough heavy weapons to man ten thousand capital ships and enough lighter weapons to act as secondary weapons and point defense weapons. By the time all the weapons were started to be catalogued and stocked, the Narn resistance leader went to King Antony and asked for him to help his people to start working on a new warship for them as they said they would. His majesty replied to Tra-vel, saying that the first mobile ship yard had arrived and it would start to build warships when one was finalized.

"General Potter, this is former war leader ShaTok of the Narn military. ShaTok ,we have to inform you and the resistance that we have found the remains of what we believe to be Narn ships. We have some images for you to look over, and if they are indeed Narn, we will bring them back and make them space worthy for you. We came here to liberate you from your enslavement and to find new friends and allies against the Centauri. We have also detected on long range sensors in hyperspace a large fleet of maybe three thousand Centauri warships. Don't be alarmed, Tra-vel and ShaTok; this is what we've been waiting for. The Centauri will have reduced the number of fleets along their borders. So my friends would you like to see what is waiting for the Centauri in orbit and along their border?"

General Potter walked over to one of the boxes that he had brought with him.

"I also have another gift for you. This gift is more like information" said General Potter. The whole Narn delegation stopped eating and drinking and stared at the Human General as he spoke again. "Your group isn't the only free Narns fighting the Centauri. There is ShanTal and his forces as well. We have just handed him most of all the captured Centauri warships we had."

The Narns started to howl with cheers, knowing their days of slavery would soon come to an end. "General, what you just told us we already knew. Your very own King had told us this to prove his trust worthiness in our eyes" replied a Narn at the back of the room, who didn't make his identity known.

In strolled one of the communication officers, Commander Harold.

"General, I've got the latest reports from orbit. I was advised to bring them down in person From Marshal Von-der-tan. I can't stay planet side too long as I've got an admirer in the form of Warmaster ShanTal and it's looking like the Centauri forces have been destroyed to the last ship a lot sooner than it was planned for, thanks to War leader ShanTal"

"How was the victory made possible by ShanTal?" demanded Tra-vel.

"With his ships being that of Centauri design, they thought that he was their relief forces and moved to regroup with them as lead ships" replied Commander Harold.

Admiral Von Koyster walked in and started to look for Commander Harold. When he found her he moved over to her. "So Jessica, how long has it been? I thought you would have been given your own command by now. Can you get me the latest on Centauri fleet deployments please?" asked Von Koyster.

Jessica looked back and smiled and replied "Thanks, Uncle. I always thought you hated me, keeping me away from all the meetings." Jessica then leaned in and kissed her uncle on the cheek and walked off.

"Commander Harold, if I had my way, you would have had your own command. Unfortunately, your promotion was blocked because of your family's friendship to me. That is why I wanted you here so you can prove that you have been worthy of promotion and you should, by now, hold the rank of fleet Captain. I will give you a mission soon enough. I need you to shine like I know you can. Trust me; you will show up those that passed you by and you will eventually pass them by and hold them up for promotion, due to the board's failings" said His Majesty.

"Sirs, Marshal Von-der-tan has hailed us. We are victorious in orbit" said Colonel Bond.

"Excellent… now we just have to wait for the Centauri forces to arrive in this system to see if they think they can reinforce their ground forces on Narn" Said General Potter.

"Before we go on…" said His Majesty as he stood up. "We have to make sure that we get the main landing fields under our control sooner rather than later."

"Now please everyone, we must start to get the planet's side of this operation sorted before the Centauri manage to drag reinforcements in here and set our plans back months" said General Potter.

"Now everyone, the plan we are going to set in motion right now is going to be called Operation Clean Sweep. My scout forces and orbital scans taken before we landed showed there was a Centauri base nearby and we have discovered it's called Base Twenty-one" explained His Majesty.

"Warmaster ShaTok, I think it's time you gave our Human friends the information on our last free standing Military base" ordered Tra-vel.

"Well General, Admiral and King Antony, we have a large underground military base. It's undetected for the moment, but we believe that it will soon be discovered as the Centauri seem to have a mining expedition in the same area" explained ShaTok.

King Antony stood up, looked at the Narns, and said "If he could get one of his ships to run a deep range scan of the surface to find out what is going on there, he could plan their next moves."

"Yes, you may run your deep scans, Your Majesty" said Tra-vel.

"Antony to Camelot, can you run thermal deep penetration scans of Narn within fifteen square miles of my location? Please let me know when you get it. Antony out. Everyone, my own sources showed the Centauri could either defend Narn in battle or still lose it or move their forces off to more fortified systems and still lose Narn, and then recall their fleets. That is precisely what they are doing, but their fleets will still be destroyed. Everything is going as I have planned it, right down to the smallest detail" stated His Majesty.

"Camelot to Antony…We are sending you the information you requested. Have fun and bring us something nice to wear back. Camelot out" laughed Yetta.

"Now this is very interesting. It shows that the Centauri bases are enlarging themselves and will soon be crashing in the walls to the Narn Base. I doubt the base would have lasted another six months at the speed they're mining" said His Majesty. "Now we are going to have fun at the Centauri's expense and all we need to do is draw the Centauri forces away from this level on the map." Then he pointed to the map and enlarged that level. We are lucky that the Gaim have been giving me some body guards. What I've learned from them they can burn through rock and soil as fast as they do with flesh. General Potter, you can take over now" said His Majesty.

"Now people, we can draw the bulk of the Centauri forces from the lower levels and start to ready their remaining fighters while His Majesty and his body guards go for an underground assault on this base. Once this base falls, the Narn Capital is as good as free and the Narn should be fully liberated within a few extra days unless they surrender" said General Potter.

Everyone looked at King Antony.

"Your Majesty one small thing" inquired Warmaster ShaTok.

"That's a very simple thing to answer." He said, reading his mind. "An unwilling traitor, someone who has had their mind scanned via a Centauri telepath" explained His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, I think it will work better if we don't use a telepath on this and use covert military soldiers. We brought enough with us, Sire" advised Potter.

"I don't think that will happen. The odds of that happening are so extremely high. In fact, it's virtually impossible. My guards are trained for that. Plus, I brought telepaths with me and their jobs are to hunt down the Centauri and plant a image in their minds of a fake battle plan and if they do get scanned, it will show them as real" explained His Majesty.

"General Potter, I believe you have some ideas on how to shake the Centauri up. That is, with your permission, Tra-vel and ShaTok."

General Potter stood up and walked to where His Majesty was standing, addressing the people in the room. "I understand that there is a minor Centauri air field close by and with the Centauri ships no longer in geo stationary orbit, we can now take the air field. Then we can start placing Narn Fighters there if you have any nearby."

The Narns looked at each other, surprised that none had ever thought about attacking the air field.

"General Potter, that air field you mentioned is extremely fortified. Many of my men have tried to breach it and they all come back failing to do so" replied ShaTok.

"I can promise you that that air field will be under our control soon enough and their base commander will be in our interrogation rooms" replied General Potter.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen please calm down. I've got fifteen support fleets in orbit and four full battle fleets of Earth Force regular forces in orbit and throughout the system. The Centauri are out numbered and out gunned. Plus my own Throne Ship and its sister ship the Camelot will remain in the Narn system to help quell the brutal and savage behavior of these Centauri criminals. This will be a very fast battle, so if we make the way to the transports, we can head to my throne ship to welcome the Centauri."

"We can send our decoy ground forces against Base Twenty-One now. It will take eighty minutes human time for them to reach their assembly area and it will take us just about one hour Earth time to get to our places in the Narn underground base. We will both check in beforehand and then we will kick it off."

"General, will we have air power for this mission?" asked ShaTok.

"Yes, we have air power standing by to lend us their support and strength" replied Potter.

"Yes do that if you think it will work, and Potter, take some Narns with you. They will come in handy and we will help them see how well we fight to help free their world" replied His Majesty.

"Thank you, King Antony. That sounds like a great plan" said Warmaster ShanTal.

"Please everyone, remember we are all here for the same reason. We want to aid the Narn in their fight against their enslavement. Also, we need some allies in space. So far, almost every race we have come across has been hostile, but you the Narn have shown us no hatred or aggressiveness towards us in any way shape or form. For that we are grateful" said His Majesty.

Tra-vel stood up and spoke "We have to decide and decide now which base is primary and secondary and what support we might need to take them."

ShaTok took over the meeting at this point.

"Now let's get down to this fast, as we don't have much time before the Centauri reinforcements enter our system and then we can't move as freely as we can now." He looked around at everyone present and finally shook his head in frustration and asked "So can anyone tell me how long we do have before they arrive?"

General Potter and several of his advisors started up a conversation with the Narn delegation to see how far the Narn would go until they had enough of the Centauri. It was GHorr military advisor to Tra-vel who said they would like nothing more than to reclaim all of their territories back from the Centauri.

Early warning probes started sounding off alarms on board every single ship in the Earth fleet, to show their Narn guests the remains of their once proud space fleet. The Centauri called them primitives. The Narn leaders and remaining military had no choice to agree with the Centauri that they were primitives. However, Major Steel chose to give the Narn a tip that the Earth Alliance used: to send ships into a system and turn them into a part of a new fast building space station.

The Centauri ships started to jump into the Narn system, ordering the Alien vessels out of their system. The leading Centauri was Jalorm Refa senior fleet officer of house Refa. The Centauri fleets were made up of 700 battle cruisers, 800 heavy cruisers and 1500 attack cruisers. Jalorm Refa ordered his fleet to fire missiles and mines into the intruders' ships, only to see the intruders' vessels were picking the mines and missiles apart faster than the Centauri could launch them.

Refa noticed that his missiles and mines weren't getting through the Human Defenses. He then ordered his entire fleet to open fire. The Earth ships started to accelerate towards the Centauri fleet. They held their fire, even though they were in weapons range. They just wanted to show the Centauri how strong Earth ship armor was. Then, the Earth warships unleashed a massive alpha strike from all vessels and within seconds of the first alpha strike, the Centauri ships were devastated. Only a hand full of fighter squadrons and some ships at the rear of the Centauri fleet survived that encounter.

ShaTok started to laugh out loud and it made General Potter jump out of his skin to see this hard faced Narn laugh. It was all because their former masters would soon be on the retrieving end of a kicking. Then the news spread to the ground forces of Centauri reinforcements.

"General Potter, you will take your men and our soldiers and plan an attack on that base. While the rest of your personnel will go with us and your King, head to the under ground base. From there, King Antony's body guards will melt away into the Centauri base neighboring our base. I think I covered everything. At least I hope I did" laughed ShaTok.

"Yes, I haven't truly shown you my bodyguards. I've kept them on our transports for safety and we didn't want to scare you. They spit acid and have claws that can crush anything one could imagine, but they respond to my thoughts and are totally loyal to me and to our cause against the Centauri" replied His Majesty.

"I guess it's time we move forward, everyone. You all have been briefed and understand our mission" said Potter.

"Yes, we all know and understand what we must do" replied Warleader Lontak.

"And we will not fail you, General" replied Colonels Shepherd and Steal.

"Then we'd better get a move on, then. We have thirty minutes to get there" stated Potter. They all started to move off at a jog to make up time, in case they had some unforeseen encounters that would slow them down.

"Alpha Eight, pull up! You have a Centauri fighter on your tail! Hit your retros and flip it into full reverse. I'm only three seconds away. Hold on" said Wing Commander Tenor. The Star Fury suddenly exploded, but the pilot had ejected. There was an overload in its main reactor that caused the problem during the dog fight.

"Alpha Eight, can you read me? Alpha Eight, are you there?" asked Tenor worriedly.

"Yeah yeah, I'm here boss. I'm just taking in the view. So can anyone get me out of this place? I never did like fireworks and these explosions don't look good" replied Dexter.

"Where was the Sherwood?" demanded Fleet captain Rex of the Lexington.

"Well it looks like this cake run won't be as easy as people thought. That's 15 ships now destroyed and we don't know how" replied Commander Kaga.

"Well Commander, that's not fully true. We know what they're doing. We just want them to take out the ships they think they can" replied Admiral Montgomery.

"Sir the Argus is under extreme fire. They must be picking up all the com chatter coming from it and mistaking it for the flag ship" said Lieutenant Smith.

"Smithy, the Argus was designed to take extreme fire. Her armor is on par with the Throne Ship class and they have a lot of weapons that they're holding back until I order their use" replied Montgomery.

"Argus, this is Montgomery. Unleash all weapons and move the drone ships forward. We have managed to drag all their remaining forces here and now it's time for them to pay for their lack of ability" declared Montgomery.

"Sensors are indicating that the Centauri forces think they're about to win a battle" said Smithy.

"How's that, my boy?" asked Monty.

"Sir, they're bringing in all their reserves to engage the Argus and her wings" replied Smithy.

"Well then, it's a good job. Those drones are moving forward to counter them. Signal the Argos to reduce speed to allow the drones to increase distance, and once they are in the middle of their fleet, activate their auto destruct systems and wipe them out" ordered Monty.

The Centauri ships saw the Earth ships moving in on them. Still, they didn't change targets until they got within short range scan range and found that they were unmanned. But by then it was too late,as one by one the Earth drone ships exploded, taking a sizeable chunk of the Centauri forces with them until there were none.

"Monty to fleet: set course for the Centauri colony worlds and offer them the chance to surrender. At the end of the war they may return home to Centauri Prime" ordered Monty. The earth fleet moved into orbit around Dorac Prime, the main Centauri colony in this sector of space.

"Com, open a channel to the planets governor and open a channel across all their civilian wave lengths as well. This is Fleet Admiral Montgomery of the Earth fleet that's in orbit of your world. You will stand down what's left of your military forces and surrender. Your government launched an unprovoked attack against our Monarch and launched raids against our colonies. In the end, we retaliated ,and now our forces can move where it wants and when it wants. When the war ends you will be allowed to return to the Centauri Republic, if you so wish." He gave the signal to close the channel. "Now let's wait for their reply."

"Earth warships, we are a peaceful colony. What defenses we had we gave to the defense force that you destroyed or got around to get here. We have no option but to surrender. All we ask is that you treat us as we would treat you and not harm us" said Lord Tresnor, planetary Governor.

"Put me fleet wide and put this on black channels. Fleet, I don't want you to treat these Centauri the way they would treat us. I've been given video footage that has the victims of Centauri rape crime against female prisoners who suffered so much they needed to have a telepath remove those memories. Any crewperson found to harm these or even take one as a partner will be arrested for treason by orders of His Majesty. Close channel."

General Potter's team made it to the Centauri Base Twenty-One with plenty of time to spare.

"Warleader, send out your teams to check the patrol routines" ordered Potter. Within seconds, Lontak was speaking into his com link.

"Send out patrol group nine and have attack group three ready to launch attack, as ordered"

"Steal, make sure your mortar teams are placed to cover the advance of all strike groups" ordered Potter.

The Narns weren't good at following Human orders to take their time and advance carefully. They grouped together and decided to do what they do best and just started to run at the Centauri Base. Only a quarter of the Narns under Potter's command went for this approach. However, they had the effect that they wanted. The base defenses came online and started to fire at the Narns, only to be taken out by Human sharp shooters, who had taken cover to pick out any trouble threats that might come their way.

Potter stood there in shock and thought to himself _'__How does Antony managed to predict everything so clearly? He__'__s never wrong! If we had rushed and attacked the Centauri, we would have, no doubt, lost, and this attack is beyond me__'_

"Mortar crews, fire on the hangar building and make sure you hit those doors first!" shouted Potter into his link. "Sniper crews, take shots at the barn as soon as the mortars explode. Fire at will on that building."

"Ground radar, track this Flying Fortress Tango 101, complements of His Majesty. We have a lock on the base main ramp doors and will commence firing in five seconds" ordered Colonel Black of Tango 101. Within milliseconds of the mortar strike, Tango 101 and the snipers started to take down the Centauri forces behind the doors that were getting up off the ground in a dazed reaction from the explosion.

"Your Majesty, we have opened the barn doors and have taken the Centauri completely by surprise. A quarter of the Narns under my control decided to fling themselves at the camp defenses. Well it worked, but some were killed in the attack. The rest have been taken to med camps for their injuries. Thank you for the other surprise in the form of Tango 101. It came just in time of our great need" said General Potter, informing His Majesty.

"Well done, Potter. We are moving in now on the last few meters of the walls and we will be able to advance on the Centauri from behind them" replied His Majesty.

King Antony looked at his Gaim Officers, wondering how long it would take his guards to breach the walls so they could start their main attack. There was a sound of clicking and then all the Gaim stood still as His Majesty spoke to them via telepathy. They looked at him and started to nod and spit out greater amounts of acid towards the wall.

Tra-vel walked over to King Antony and handed him a data pad.

"This is the latest news from orbit and it reports that a possible Centauri counter attack is heading this way. Warleader ShanTal has requested permission to land. He wishes to speak to you, Admiral Von Koyster. We have no idea why he wants to leave his ship during these splendid days."

"Yes, but they are only splendid now that we are winning, and in such glorious ways as well" replied Von Koyster.

"Guards, stop and wait while your last attack melts away the rock" said His Majesty.

The Guard closest to the wall that was dripping with acid spoke to His Majesty.

"My Human King Antony, we have broken through the wall and there seems to be no food there for us to eat yet."

"Don't worry, my guards. Soon there will be more than enough food for you all to eat and have your fill" replied Antony. All of Antony's Gaim guards made a road that even made the Narn go weak at the knees.

Major Green of the engineer core walked up and looked at everyone.

"Break out the acid neutralizing solutions. We don't want our own troops walking through that acid now, do we?" laughed Green. Within minutes the wall was large enough to get ten Earth Heavy battle tanks through, side by side. Still no Centauri came to inspect the noises or the strange smells emanating from this area.

"Captains, how have these humans located the base main ramps? What can we send out to clear out those vermin?" demand Gorton Refa, the Governor of Narn.

"Governor, we think it was pure luck. Their tactics seem to fire in a direction as a diversion, but this time they hit the underground ramp with our soldiers at the ready to attack them" said Captain Walkot.

The base underground klaxon system suddenly went off, halting all thoughts and conversations, and giving off the intruder alert signal.

"Intruders on lower level fifty. Warning : lower level breach. Evacuate the complex." stated the automated message, along with the klaxons.

"Captains, explain how can we have a breach on the lower level fifty. That is two levels below us at the rock bottom of the complex" asked Gorton. A new klaxon and computer warning started to sound off: _"Lower level fifty…zero Centauri life signs. All sensors have been deactivated for the main system on this level.'_

"Governor, the base's reactors are located on lower level forty-nine and fifty. They can shoot us down before we had a chance to finish it off." The power went off throughout the base. "Get troops down here to sort these breaches. People, you told me I would be safe in this complex. How wrong you were, weren't you, Captains?" said Gorton.

Then, inside the office, they could hear the sounds of screaming and an odd heavy PPG rifle shot; then a sound that made their blood run cold. Out side the door, there came a knock to their sealed office. "Centauri forces inside this facility, you will surrender or you will suffer a fate worse than death. If you know a race called the Gaim, then you should pray to whatever gods you believe in that you will never encounter a Gaim soldier in action. They are fast, powerful and very well armored. If you think I'm joking, look outside the door at the chamber on Lower level forty-eight. There are 12 Gaim soldiers who act as my guards. They can be inside that room in seconds, and then you will be their next snack. We have managed to capture no prisoners. My guards want to be fed and they will feed on you Centauri fools for your crimes against sentient beings" said the recorded voice message of His Majesty King Antony of Earth.

"We don't have long and what I know of the Gaim, they don't just give out their soldiers to anyone. So this may have been a very foolish thing we may have set in motion" said the Governor.

"Is there enough fire power in those 6 rifles to take down that many Gaim Soldiers?" asked Captain Walkot.

"No, I'm afraid it would be enough to take one down, and that would make the others even angrier. Then we would doom our whole race for our actions here today" replied The Governor.

The next thing everyone out side the room noticed was that the doors slowly opened to the noise of the Gaim soldiers, warning everyone of danger. "We surrender! We surrender! Don't set those things on us" said the Governor, The now Former Governor of Narn.

"I'm Tra-vel leader of the Narn people. I've been authorized by our monarch, ShanTal, and on behalf of our people to accept your surrender. On behalf of our new Human brothers and sisters, they too accept your surrender. Without the help of our new family, I now know we would probably have been under Centauri yoke control for decades, if not longer."

"Now Gorton Refa, you will order your forces to stand down or face the wrath of my body guards, who will make sure your dead are never found at all." demanded His Majesty.

"Who do you think you are talking to, child?" said Refa.

His Majesty just started to laugh at was said to him "I'm His Majesty, King Antony of Earth. I'm the one your forces attacked in an unprovoked attack and I'm also the Human who can read your every thought. If I so wished, Refa, I could burn out your mind now, but why would I do that when there's thousands of ways to have more fun" implied His Majesty.

Earth Border station Gamma 12 Vega sector:

"Commodore to command and control: This is not a drill. All fighters to ready alert standing one."said the station watch officer. Commodore Reading touched his link and was greeted by the duty watch officer.

"We have an unidentified vessel coming out of the gate and it's hailing us. They're asking for permission to come on board. They want to act as arbitrators, to help bring about the end of the war."

"Allow them to board. I will meet with this person to see who he serves" laughed Commodore Reading.

Reading didn't stay laughing for long. He walked his way to the docking bay to see a one- man craft waiting for him. Then the ship opened up, and out walked a techno-mage.

"My name is Ralen. I'm here to search out a peaceful way to end this war. Yes, the Centauri have paid for me to come to speak to you, so I thought it best to let you know up front."

"My Name is David reading and my rank is Commodore of Earth. Your Centauri friends started this blood shed. We didn't seek this out. It came to us and we even tried to look the other way. If you will kindly follow me, Ralen, I will take you to a room where we can talk. We want to see if you are here for peace, and if you are and can pass security tests, you will be allowed to head to Earth"

Ralen gave him a suspicious look "So what would happen if I didn't pass the security tests?"

"You only need to think of that if you do fail. Just to let you know: our Monarch's children and grandchildren are Techno-mages. One of them will be talking to you, Ralen. They are somewhat understandably angry that people have tried to kill their fathers and grandfathers" informed David.

Back on Narn, the celebrations were now in full swing. ShanTal, the last surviving member of the Narn monarchy, was sworn in as their King. He asked only one thing: Commander Jessica Harold to be assigned as his Liaison officer. That was granted, and due to her actions of saving ShanTal's life, she was promoted to Commodore, since no officer under that rank could serve as Liaison officer and Ambassador.

"Well I'm sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but I've just been informed via family telepathic link that the Centauri have sent a Techno-mage to Earth to search out a peaceful solution to this war."

Antony started to laugh. "My family can deal with him. That's no problem. Wait until they meet the real Regent. That will make their blood boil" informed his Majesty.

"There are also two other ships in hyperspace and both heading to Earth. I'm fully aware of what races those ships belong to, but who they are what is on them both are different questions. Grand Lord Talmarch showed me years ago the ships and races of the Ancients, but said it was our job to find out about their thrall races. One ship belongs to the ancient race called the Shadows, as the Kirishic Lords call them and the other race is the Vorlons."

All the leaders left the great feast of Victory and Liberation and moved to a quieter place.

"Now people, we have to see what our next goals will be. The older Narn ships have been rebuilt. The others are getting towed back to the Earth ship yards for you. Don't worry. We have already started working on several new ships for you. The prototypes will be ready soon, I hope" said his Majesty.

Tra-vel looked around the group "We will need to strike back at the Centauri , as long as we do and we do it fast"

Marshal Von-der-tan stepped up this time and spoke. "Well in conjunction with His Majesty's orders, I've set in motion a fake raid that will bring fear to the ranks of the Centauri. We are going to launch an attack on the industrial system of Tolonius. After we do as much damage as we can, we will withdraw to hyperspace. Then we will return to our main staging area only if they need repairs. If they don't, they will return to main forward strike base for their return fight. This time it will be to capture it" said Yetta.

It was ShanTal's turn to speak. "We should work on getting the Regime back to full strength and I promised the Sigma sector will be our gift to Earth for all that they have so far and for what they are doing as we foolishly debate about where to strike next" said ShanTal then looked over to the newly promoted Commodore Harold,or ,as he now called her, Jessica. "People please we have to repair the wounds to our world and repair our ships. I know my command ship is in need of some major work, but I'm still alive, thanks to Jessica" he said with more warmth than normal.

"Throne Ship to King Antony… Please respond. This is Lieutenant Brewster."

"Go ahead Brewster. What's up?" replied His Majesty.

"Latest news from Earth: Ralen has been passed to travel to Earth and the other two ships have both arrived in Sol System nineteen minutes ago because there was a time lag on the up date" replied Brewster.

"Thank you Lieutenant. Please keep me up to date on that" requested His Majesty.

Antony looked around the crowd

"I'm sorry regarding that, but it looks like we'd better get a move on. I know Earths Parliament and Senate won't override this war until I say it's finished" stated His Majesty.

"Well, as we have already had a chance to speak on this in private during the feast, we have agreed that Earth will have the final say when it's time to talk peace and not until then" Said Tra-vel with all the other Narns nodding in agreement.

"We have one final thing to start before we leave and head to our ships for the next phases of this war. I, ShanTal, along with Tra-vel and the power of the Narn KhaRi hereby rename the Narn Democratic Regime to just the Narn Regime. May it live long and do so with pride in fellow life forms."

"Now I have one last thing that I wish to say. I wish to inform the Narn delegation and my senior officers that I have been asked to return to Earth, which I have refused to do as my presence is still needed on the front. I wish to make my first gift to The Newly renamed Narn Regime the eight Orion class military bases for the orbit of Narn, in case the Centauri somehow manage to break the liberation fleet lines."

I'M SORRY THIS WAS LONG. THE CENTAURI WAR WILL END SOON. HOPE YOU ALL LIKED THIS CHAPTER.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL BACK FOR THE FINAL PART OF THE CENTAURI WAR.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter two. Part three. Fall of the Centauri Republic.

In the Council chambers on Centauri Prime, all of the members of the Centaurum were present. They were over whelmed with the sheer state of bad news what was forever incoming. Their only piece of good news was that Lord Refa had managed to send a massive fleet to counter the Humans and Narns in the Narn Star System. Lord Refa walked over to the council com system and started typing at the screen.

"Yes, lord Refa, how can we be of surface today?" a military officer on the view screen asked..

"Well what do I always ask about? What is the state of House Refa's Fleet? Has there been any word yet from them?" replied Refa.

"There is still extreme jamming of our communications in that region of space. Those Humans are blanketing all wave bands possible" replied the officer.

One of the Lords of a less powerful House, Lord Aldom, spoke up.

"Lord Refa, they have to have some form of system for communications. How else have they managed to give out orders? We must have over looked something and it's going to cost us."

"See, people, I'm not the only one who saw that flaw in our attempts" replied Refa.

Lord Mollari started to laugh.

" Yes, yes we know you're concerned about the Republic. I also know you are concerned about the loss of our colonies and the forces needed to try and defend them. Then again, I might be totally wrong, and you're looking at saving your very own skin" Mollari smirked and scoffed.

"This war has taken us all fully by surprise. We have grown soft, lazy and content regarding our power and strength. These Humans are in every way the plague that would destroy Centauri Prime and the whole Centauri race" said Lord Refa.

"Yes, Refa. We know the prophesy as well as you, but don't you have the dates wrong? That prophesy isn't supposed to come true for at least another one hundred and fifty years." said Lord Davo.

"Lord Miro, what do you have to say on that subject?" asked Mollari.

"Even though Lady Sandlot has never been wrong, she has from time to time been inaccurate by slight amounts, but not on the scale you're saying, Refa. However, the conquest of Narn was prophesied and said if the road of the Guardian changes, it will doom Centauri Prime" replied Miro.

"What do you mean if the road of the Guardian changes? What does that mean?" demanded both Refa and Mollari together.

"That's the point. She didn't know herself. But she did say that Narn's destiny had two possible outcomes. This being the first: if the Guardians stayed true to their road, we would enjoy enslaving Narn for over a century and bring the populace to their knees. The second, however, is one we the people of Centauri Prime should wish will never come true. If the Guardians changed their road, Centauri prime would feel the effects for thousands of years. The servants of both light and darkness would have to bow to them" replied Miro, reciting the prophesy word for word from memory. He looked around the room to see the shock on everyone's faces, not sure what they had been told. He continued. "I think I should tell you that we asked the Minbari decades ago if they knew who the guardian race was, and they looked perplexed by that question. A great scholar of theirs thought the identity of the guardian might be the Vorlons, but they weren't sure, as they would never change their path. However, one Minbari came to me and said Valen had spoken of the might of the Guardian, and that before he went back to Minbar, he had spent time with them. That's all I know" answered Lord Miro with such sadness that they all knew he wished he had done more.

In hyperspace, the battered hull of the once proud Centauri warship Lady Vandeem was running on just enough power to keep it on course for the Centauri Prime beacon. The Lady Vandeem was a heavily modified Primus class Battlecruiser. One could see it had been in a fight for its very survival. Hull breaches punctured the whole length and breadth of the ships hull.

"Engineering, can we make it back to Centauri Prime?" asked acting Captain Sande.

"I'm not sure, sir. Can we at least transfer power from weapons to life-support and engines? That will increase our chances for survival greatly and if we are detected, we can transfer back to weapons" replied the chief engineer.

"Most of the weapons only have a handfull of shots left and what damage we can do won't do any good, so do it and pray to the gods we get home safely. That's an order. Helm, let me know when the engines' power and our speed has increased. I will want a new ETA to Centauri Prime. Communications, have we passed beyond their interference barrier? If not, do you have a best guess on when we can send a message for help to Home?" asked Sande.

"We don't have the strength in our transmitters to break the interference levels yet, but we should be able to send a message in about six hours if they don't increase their jamming zones" answered Renlop, the activing com officer.

Mean while near Earth, the Vorlon ship approached the planet, all the time sending out a message that they wished to meet with Earth's Government and that they wished them no ill will or harm.

"Vorlon vessel, our long range sensors have you targeted just in case you deviate from your present course. If you do, we will take action to defend ourselves" said the Commander Jenson, com officer of EAS Cromwell.

"Computer, send an auto reply stating we will not deviate from our present flight plan" requested Sebastian.

"Pilot, this vessel has just been scanned from Hyperspace by an Earth Warship. Do you wish me to take preventative actions?" asked the ship's computer.

"Negative,computer. Have the Dark ones arrived yet?" enquired Sebastian.

"They have just arrived. They are being escorted by another Earth Warship. Our historical files on this species need to be updated. Once in orbit I will activate my secondary sensors to scan the planet" informed the ship's computer.

" Justin, my sensors have detected the Vile Ones' ship. It's been escorted in via a ship in hyperspace!" announced the Shadow Fighter.

"Computer, monitor it. If it attacks, defend this ship at all costs" replied Justin.

"Justin, the Humans' ship's computer has told us to land at preset co-ordinates. Should I obey them?"

"Yes, computer, follow their orders to the letter. We should be first to arrive, and soon our mages will soon be here too" replied Justin

"I must get us ready for this encounter. Is there anything else you see before we land?"

"Negative, Justin. They are jamming sensors with ease. If I increase strength they will no doubt know it."

Aboard the Throne Ship, His Majesty was just leaving a meeting after discussing the further expansions of the whole fleet. He was walking to his quarters, still going over in his head what help the Narn fleet in its present state could use. He was almost nearing his quarters, after passing the final security check point. When he arrived, on his deck was placed a com link, due to his Gaim Body Guards wanting to be near him in case they were needed. He felt a surge of telepathic energy running through his body from His Family back home, informing him that he was needed.

"Bridge, this is King Antony. I'm going to be going into deep meditation for some time and I don't wish to be disturbed for any reason." He walked into his rest chamber and started to cast incantations to allow him to create the hyper distance illusion spell that would allow him to fully interact with people on Earth in this instance. "My daughter, I stand ready, child. Take all precautions for everyone. I'm on my way now."

A few minutes later stood their father in the circle of power on Earth.

"Father , you may leave and head to the meeting. They are all here now. The Mage has just landed" said Princess Victoria into his mind.

"Excellent, my daughter. I see you have been deep in your education. It looks like you have my skill and strength and that's good news" laughed King Antony.

"Father, take care and be safe. We cannot help you once you leave the circle. "It's too draining" replied Victoria.

King Antony started to cast another incantation around the circle that increased their abilities and strength only from within the circle. He quickly pulled his hood over his head and moved to the door, looking back and smiling at his children with pride. He quickly went down the corridor and down some steps that took him to his car.

"Drive me to this meeting with the First contact Aliens, please. Now that I am back, drive with all speed. I have to make it there before they change the outcome."

After only 5 minutes of driving in the midday traffic of London, he had arrived. 'The joys of a Police escort would take hours to get here normally' he thought as he got out of the car and walked to the secured door.

"Hello officer. Will you please let me in? This is a state of emergency."

The officer looked up and was about to press a button to ask permission.

"Officer Johnson if that is your real name, you should know who I am and that I have to be in there for that meeting."

The Police officer started with recognition. "Your Majesty! How did you get here?" asked the officer named Johnson.

"If I told you, I would be forced to have you arrested on grounds of state security. Is that under stood? No one is to know I'm here or that I went in. I want to see the shock and horror on some peoples faces" replied His Majesty.

Ralen, Justin and Sebastian were in a very heated discussion that was turning into a fight. Justin was the first to act, summoning an electrical discharge from his walking stick he used. Both Sebastian and Ralen jumped out of the way, defending themselves, both punching Justin in his mid region area. The Human security officers came running, but were flung away. It was at this moment when the doors flew open and in walked His Majesty, smiling at everyone.

"So this is how you come to my world and show manners to my Government." He raised his staff and lifted all three of them off the floor. "The more you struggle, the worse it will feel for you all, but I do hope you're not foolish enough to think that just because I'm a projection that my powers will be weak. If you do, think again fools" said His Majesty.

They started to relax after a few moments of fighting against the electrical bubble His Majesty had placed them in.

"My name is Ralen and I'm here on behalf of the Centauri to put right their mistakes and help Earth back on to its true road."

"I'm now called Sebastian but I was once called Jack The Ripper here on my home world. I serve the Vorlons when they need my services. I'm awakened and sent on my mission and my mission is to change your road and your fate."

"Well, I'm here to keep Earth on its present road of destruction and to bring suffering to the Galaxy. My name is now Justin, but I was once called Mordrid Lefay."

"So I can see you all have come to either encourage us on our present footing or to change us. You basically wish to either save Centauri Prime or destroy it" replied His Majesty.

"That's right" replied Justin. "So Earthman, What do you want?"

Before anyone had a chance to reply, His Majesty started to laugh.

"Well that's an old and very dangerous question you just asked. You can answer that question your self, Justin" replied His majesty.

Justin thought 'How can I get out of this?'

"A nice cup of tea would do; no sugar, just a slice of lemon" replied Justin.

"Wow Justin guess what. That's just what Earth wanted. Wow, that's a bit creepy. We just wanted to give you a cup of tea" laughed His Majesty.

Ralen spun round and asked

"Who do you serve, King Antony?"

"Wow, what is it with these ancient questions today? I serve Earth, of course, and the betterment of all life on the planet, small and large. I bet you can't tell me who you serve Ralen in a straight upfront answer can you?" asked His Majesty.

Now it was Sebastian's turn to see if he could shed light on this impasse. Sebastian looked straight at King Antony and asked "Who are you?"

"Well no surprise yet… another ancient question from beyond time. I'm the impasse in the road that makes new roads and new paths for people to walk on I'm the bringer of Truth" replied His Majesty.

Both Justin and Sebastian looked in shock at the answer what was given. It was the answer that both the Sheppards had been trained to fear and dreamed and hoped it would never be said.

"As you can see I know a lot about your species and your secrets. I won't go there yet, but Justin, if another one of your friends pays me a visit, ask them to knock at the door. I really don't like unwanted gifts. There was some type of bug in a jar. I hope you don't mind but I ejected it into the sun, after casting a joining incantation on it. I understand that's very dangerous of the person who made the keeper" replied His Majesty. "My honored Members of Parliament and Members of My Senate who are present, I would like to make a motion that we move this meeting to a more secured location, as in my Palace for example. There we can discuss what they really want and what their goals are apart from killing each other."

There were some small moans and lots of whispering, but the Prime Minister Sarah McLeod replied "On behalf of both Governments, I will endorse your request only if you have adequate protection" she demanded.

In hyperspace was the newly built and untested 59th battle fleet, under the command of recently promoted Marshal John Howe, who had been spending all of his time bringing the whole Battle fleet up to date with his new and untried tactics.

"Get me Admiral Khan now, com" barked the Admiral.

"Well you don't need to yell, sir. I'm here. Can I not get side tracked?" Laughed Jessica.

"Now Jess, you should know better. What help would you like, and no jokes?"

"I got a time- delayed message from His Majesty, wishing me good luck and reminding me of my training. He had some type of tactic he used to use on me in my training simulation battles when he kept kicking my ass. He always sends me pre-battle messages of advice and tips to remind me in this case" replied Jessica. "Everyone, if the Admiral cuts me off or even changes or countermands my order,s do it without question. That is an order." said Marshal Howe.

"Sir, we are approaching the Marlgot sector. Sensors aren't picking up any major fleets or heavy defenses" announced the sensor officer, Lieutenant Commander Stevens.

"All hands, battle stations. Deploy all fighters and bombers. Put me on fleet wide intercom." She waited while they complied with her order and then spoke again. " Fleet, I wish I was going to say this was going to be head turning pitch fight. I'm sorry to report our long range scans have picked up no major defenses or fleets. To be on the safe side, I'm dispatching the thirty-first scout wing forward to get some fine sensor sweeps of the system. Then and only then will we deploy what we need. Marshal Howe out."

"This is Admiral Khan to fleet. Run your defensive grid at maximum. Make sure we launch recon probes into the system before we head in, and bring auxiliary jump generators on line."

"What's wrong, Jess?" asked John with concern in his voice.

"This is one of the tactics His Majesty used on me time and time again. It took me years to find out how to beat it, and that's only because he wanted me to know how to defend against it" replied Jess.

"Then, how do we beat it?" demanded Howe.

"Have the sensors picked up any type of radiation?" asked Khan.

"Yes, it seems to be just normal back ground radiation, but it's more concentrated than usual" replied the sensor officer.

"That's their fleet location beacon. They've aligned their reactors to give off the same wave band as the back ground radiation. Even localized sensors won't see them unless you know what you're looking for" said Khan.

"With what we have seen and learned about other races' jump drives, as they call them, we have the fastest recharge system going, because we have two systems. So, we send the probes in the first wave as decoys and we use the secondary system straight away and fire spatial torpedoes into their grouped locations to scatter them. When their systems go to full power, they will become visible again. It takes around three hours to realign those systems again, and by then, John, they will be dead" explained Khan.

"So why hasn't that tactic been made standard procedure?" asked Howe.

"All I know is it works, but once you know about it, you realize it's been used all over the place. It also blinds the sensors of the ships entering from Hyperspace" said Khan.

"In other words, it's the last desperate move of a beaten man" replied Howe.

"Sir, we have launched probes and we are opening jump points. Now standing by to fire spatial torpedoes" said the Tactical Officer.

"Fire torpedoes as the jump vortexes are closing and make sure the probes are working. Reopen jump points straight away to stop escaping ships from entering hyperspace" ordered Marshal Howe.

"I'm detecting a Centauri mine field, sir! There are hundreds of thousands of them and they've just armed."

"Well, Jess, thank you for that warning. We were about to head into a massive trap."

"Sir, spatial torpedoes are reducing their numbers fast, but as soon as we destroy one they activate ten more" said the tactical officer anxiously .

"Both sets of jump engines are fully charged. All weapons at your ready. The defense grid is fully charged with secondary, reserve, auxiliary and back up systems are at your command" said each department head in turn.

"Stand by jump engines and inform the fleet. All weapons fire as they bear down on you. Don't let them self destruct" ordered Marshal Howe.

"You heard the Marshal, everyone. All jump drives jump in five seconds" ordered Admiral Khan. All the fleet ships activated their vortex drives and started to move to normal space with all guns firing.

"Bring in the one called Justin. Let's see how he can hold onto such an old name and an evil name at that" said His Majesty.

"It's about time! You have had me held for days while you ran tests on my DNA, I would guess" demanded Justin.

"For a start, what do I call you? Mordrid? Or should I call you Justin? I want to know why you think you are Mordrid Lefay. How could you still be alive?" inquired His Majesty.

It is because of my masters, young man. They saw great potential in me when they came to Earth during the Dark ages. They helped my armies wipe out my uncle's or should I say father's armies until they came and defeated us. That's when I was taken from Earth to serve them" replied Justin.

"So Justin, what can you tell us about your masters? I doubt my Governments would serve anyone without knowing their name" asked His Majesty, who already knew whom he served.

" I serve an ancient race called the Shadows. I can't tell you their real name as it's several thousand letters long. It's really unpronounceable to me I have tried, as have others, and we have all failed."

"Wow what a load of horse feathers, but let's get past that, shall we? I will ask once again: Who do you serve?, What do you want?, Where are you going?, Why are you here? Those will do for now. If you can answer those correctly, I will listen to anything and everything you have to say, How does that sound, Justin? It's not bad. You're the second oldest in this room now" said His Majesty.

"What do you mean by I'm not the oldest person in the room?" replied Justin.

"That's easy. I did say don't lie to me. You came in this room with a Shadow as many call them. They are your masters, right? They are also your protectors" replied His Majesty.

Justin sat there and laughed. " I didn't know an illusion could see so clearly, but looks like I was wrong again" replied Justin.

"Admiral Von Koyster to fleet: stand by to jump to normal space. We have finally reached our target system of Tolonius. Don't forget, we are not here to capture this system. We are to smash their industrial capability and reduce the number of ships they can throw at us. This will help open up the front for a fast victory, everyone. Fleet actual out."

"Sir latest reports are coming from the front. The only Narn System with Centauri in it is the Shu System, but they are slowly being wiped out" reported Lieutenant Archer.

"Well people, we don't want to disturb His Majesty while he's meditating on matters regarding Earth" said Von Koyster.

General Potter walked onto the bridge and looked at Admiral Von Koyster. "Stephan, I thought you might need some extra help, even though I'm like a fish out of water. However, I should still be able to help with something" hinted the general.

"All right. Get strapped in. We are just about to jump to normal space" replied Stephan.

" Out of our fleet,we have the best chance aside from the Camelot. Good luck, everyone. If he didn't think we could do this without him, he would have slowed us down or have us wait. He knows like I know that you are the best of the best. Launch all support ships for hyperspace defense. Com, hail the One hundred and first tactical fleet and inform them that they have hyperspace duty and we have deployed our support craft to blockade their jump gate. Inform me when they acknowledge us. That's our jump signal, people" said Admiral Von koyster.

"Sir, they have sent their acknowledgment of your order" said the com officer, Lieutenant Rodgers.

"Well Justin, your points do have some merit, but we the people of Earth don't wish to destroy other races for fun. We only defend ourselves from being attacked. You're a sorry excuse for a human being, Justin. You make my skin crawl at what you think is normal. If you are Mordrid Lafey, then you have answered for the reasons behind the Dark ages with your thirst for death and destruction. Your masters may be powerful, but I won't follow or aid you in your war. So please leave, and if you or any of your master's helpers return, it will mean war and you won't win."

Justin just looked back at him and started to smirk. "Thank you for the tea. It was nice, but my masters aren't as weak as those weakling Centauri you're presently at war with." Then he stood up and walked to the door. " I will see you again or in time, you might change your mind, or you may pass away. You just never know, Your Majesty."

The doors flung open and in came some guards.

"Take him to his ship and have him escorted out of Earth space to his masters' home world. Have Marshal Patton deploy the second battle fleet to escort him. You have your orders. You may leave now" said His Majesty. The door closed as Justin and the guards left. The king spoke again. "That was very interesting. That shows me that they want us to fight, and by the looks of it, everything else in sight. I just wonder what the other two have to say? If I had to guess, I would have to say that they will want us to stop for similar but opposite points to his."

"I concur with what you are saying, Sire" said the Prime Minister.

"He seemed well versed on some subjects, but he still refused to answer those questions you asked. I want to see what the others say as well" said the President of the Senate, via video link.

His Majesty walked over to his computer and appeared to be starting to type out the minutes of the meeting, or so the people in the room thought. He was, in fact, typing a list of orders, stating they had to reclaim all of the Regime for the Narns, and to get the Narns ready for peace talks. Also, he wanted to make sure Earth forces were in every single star system of the once mighty Centauri Republic. He then saved the message and sent it to every single fleet and battle officer in the Royal Earth Alliance who was close enough to Centauri and Narn areas to help speed up his program.

"Now people, who would you like to see next? Seeing them on their own has merit and it also lets us find out which of them is telling the truth. We already know what's going on. All we have to do is really find out why they are here and see if they can answer those four questions without any hint of a lie. That I highly doubt they can do" said His Majesty.

The Prime Minister cleared his throat and spoke next. Bring in the one they call Ralen to see what he has to share or hide from us." They brought in Ralen promptly.

"Now Ralen, please take a seat. We need to ask you a couple of questions" instructed the Prime Minister.

"I need these answered if you can" said His Majesty.

"Who do you serve? What do you want? Where are you going? Why are you here?" Asked the Prime Minister.

"Those are interesting questions, people. Some are very dangerous and some not so, but still some are hazardous to your health" replied Ralen cryptically . "The first question I will answer. I serve life and the Universe and all the creatures who co exist within it." Answered Ralen. "In answer to the second question, I go where I'm needed and walk where no other will walk or stand. To the third question, I'm here to protect and teach and watch over all those that follow in our wake. Now, in answer to the final question, I want to make sure all life is safe from harm and free from tyranny."

In just six days, Earth Force had liberated nearly all of the newly formed Narn Region with only a few well defended systems remaining The first assault by Earth force was against Sigma 597. That system turned out to have had zero Centauri presence, so it became a fortified sector all the same. This, however, was for the Earth Force's future defense program, set up by Marshal Von-der-tan. They needed this system for their goals for the future. At the same time Earth Force was attacking the Shu system. They were also attacking Quadrants 7, 14, 24 and 37, attacking Bental, Morbis and the Centauri Industrial system of Talonius. Tbey attacked the latter to keep the Centauri forces off balance and from counter attacking with larger forces against one system.

"Well Ralen, we can see you have some wisdom, but if you have truth and trust is another question" stated Prime Minister Sarah McLeod.

"Yes, Ralen. I think the other members would like you to kick me on my butt. They know I'm a Techno-mage like you are, but they fail to see that I'm not as weak as they think. So, would you like to show off and help Earth?" offered His Majesty.

"I wish I could, your majesty, but my job is the universe. I now see that your rule is too great and is beyond what your fellow brother and sisters do" replied Ralen with a massive sigh of regret.

"Very well, Ralen. You are free to leave Earth in a couple of days, at which time you will be escorted out of Earth space. In the meantime, please feel free to look around and be a tourist for a change. There on the desk in front of you is a bag of money as a thank you for being honest. Now I would like to see if you can earn our trust. If you pass, then everything you have said will be taken into account. So, as we say on Earth, don't burn your bridges" replied His Majesty.

Ralen then stood up and looked at the members of the council and bowed. "It's been a long time since I've had a holiday, and a paid holiday at that. That is very kind of you. Are there any places you could recommend to me to visit? As a stranger, I would love to see as much of your world as I can. How long do I have before I must leave?" inquired Ralen.

"There is a data pad at your side. It's full of all the information you may require and we even have added things that might not appeal to you, like all the dark places and war memorials and old ships kept from long ago to remind us how far we have come" replied Antony.

Ralen walked to the door, stopped in his tracks, and turned around once more. This time, he raised his staff and whispered something. A creature that looked like a dragon appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of them. As it sat there, it transformed into a table with a thank you gift and for each member present, their favorite flowers in a vase.

"If you don't mind, I have to return to my room to rest. This has been more draining than I thought it would be and I won't be able to remain for the whole proceeding unless I go rest now" requested His Majesty.

By all means, Sire. You may go and rest. We will need you to help control the last one. This one that just left is freaking out his guards, telling them what he did the last time he was on Earth" said the prime Minister.

Antony then stood up and walked to the main door, turned and looked at them all. "Then I will make sure I'm well rested and have all my strength. I'm glad I didn't duel Ralen now. I think he could have killed me" replied His Majesty with a chuckle.

"Sire, please stop saying things like that, even if it was a joke and a poor one at that" replied Senator Bush.

The Shu system was only lightly guarded, with the bulk of Centauri forces already inside Narn space, which was already destroyed. The Centauri command base in orbit of Shu launched a somewhat threatening message to the Earth Force Fleet when it arrived in system. Commodore Raven was never impressed when the best his opponent could do was to make idol threats. The Centauri's other assets in the system were seven cutter type warships with limited weapons and armor. The Centauri launched what fighters they had, which was few compared to the Commodore Raven's task force. They had thirty thousand fighters and eight thousand bombers.

To save time and to reduce losses, Raven ordered all fighters to launch their missiles in waves. Raven's fighters were out fitted with the new MK-15protertype: the new gravimetric propulsion version with standard enhanced fusion warheads. In theory, these anti fighter missiles, when traveling at maximum speed would do some serious damage to any capital ship around. After the fourth wave of anti fighter missiles to launch the sensors on board, the EAS Rougestown lost contact with the last Centauri class cutter as several explosions and EMP shock waves were felt through his entire fleet.

He moved to his command chair and asked his communications officer to hail the task force and ask for asset reports, damage reports and sensor reports and to start mopping up actions and security patrols.

"Now ladies and gentlemen, the hard work is about to start. We now have house cleaning to start. Ready all marines, med teams to shuttles and see what help we can give the locals. Get the Narns to the ships too."

The Narn liaison officer GolVol walked onto the bridge and said, "If you send this communication down to the surface, it will inform the local Narn resistance that help is on its way." He handed the commodore a data crystal. He then ordered his communication officer to send straight away.

The Narn liaison officer asked Raven if the Earthers were giving their Narn allies their Gravimetric propulsion technologies. Raven laughed and the Narn looked back at Raven with a puzzled expression. Then Raven simply said: "I see you haven't seen the plans for the G'Quan class heavy cruiser. In answer your question, my nervous Narn friend, yes and much more."

"Gol'Vol, with what I under stand, there is a batch of ships at Earth that is being built for your Government as a gift from King Antony. We came across some heavily damaged Narn ships and what we have seen of your remnant fleet, they will be a great asset to your people" said Raven.

"Captain Bush, please send a standard victory report to sector command, Earth Command and His Majesty and add the battle footage of the new MK-15 missiles in action" requested Commodore Raven. "Make sure we have as much information as possible to send, as well as the information about the limited resistance we faced from space, their station, fighters, and the new vessel we classed as a cutter. Last but not least, Captain, send my regards."

Captain Bush knocked on Commodore Raven's duty room door with a copy of his report for Raven to sign and the replies they had received from the relevant commands.

"Sir, I've just had a communique from the new Narn Government, asking that we help transport all the Narns on Shu back to their Home world. However, in accordance with the Earth Alliance and Narn Regime alliance, Narn citizens who wish to remain on Shu can stay and will be granted full Earth Alliance citizenship. So Jack, how many Narns wish to remain on Shu and how many wish to join the fight against the Centauri?" asked the commodore to captain Bush.

"I'm not sure, but if I've got to guess, I would estimate around thirty or fourty percent will want to remain and most of them will want to enlist straight away."

"Captain, get me the Narn home world and put me through to Tra-vel or any high ranking government person" ordered Raven.

"Greetings, Commodore. How may your grateful allies help you today?" replied Tangol, ShanTal's personal aid.

"I'm trying to get my head around your orders for the Shu system and why your government is handing it over to Earth."

"Well the KhaRi wished to hand it over as a buffer from a race that helps the Centauri: a race called the Dilgar. Their borders are in that neighborhood. However, your Government has refused the gift, so please ignore that and help our people to settle and be safe there once more" replied Tangol.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Throne Ship, Alarms systems were over whelming everyone. They took no notice of His Majesty as he walked along the corridors on his way to the bridge. As door to the bridge opened, everyone was too busy at their posts to notice his arrival.

"Stephan, what's going on? Get the dampeners firing into their main flanks' center. We have to break them. I hope you have brought some escorts, too. We have no more than twenty-four hours, and we will be putting the covers on the guns and moving for a Centauri base. However we also have to place a fleet into the Centauri system itself. I want their total defeat and unconditional surrender, people!" ordered His Majesty in a very over commanding tone than he was used to using. "Tactical, target their main space station. We will hit it with long range heavy particle cannons and if we can fire all weapons and bring it down, fire all MK15 gravimetric spatial torpedoes and have them at maximum out put. That should clear us a path. Stand by to call our escorts in and prep for our withdrawal. Now, open a channel to Marshal Fredrik Zhukov. He's had plenty of time to get into position. If you don't hear back from him, get the Camelot to meet us at Centauri Prime. It's time we end this war and we will end it now" ordered His Majesty.

Stephan looked at Anton,y trying to figure out what was going on in his head. "Sire, if we pull out now, won't the Centauri move back in and rebuild everything we have destroyed?" asked Stephan.

"Yes, you're correct, and that's why when we leave, I will place a gift here to stop your fears from coming true" replied His Majesty.

"Sire, we have multiple jump points forming all around us. This can't be right. They're reading as Vanguard class dreadnoughts. Sire, I thought they weren't being deployed this deep out of Earth space" muttered Stephan.

"Well they weren't until we pushed ahead with the next generation of warships and we have all the MK1 classes at the front lines now. There's even talk of a smaller deadlier version than the Throne Ship for mass production but that is a rumor for now" replied His Majesty.

"Commodore, we have a jump point forming. It's all but on top of us" Informed the duty sensor officer, Ensign Stewart.

"Sir, the Gilbert has hailed and is towing the Orion into place" said Lieutenant Wilson.

"There you see, Ensign. There's nothing to worry about. We have been waiting for it. You need to start checking your station's daily log reports" said Commodore Raven. Then, he smiled at Stewart, thinking to him self how many times he did the same thing until His Majesty took him under his wing and trained him.

"Now Jack, start deploying squadrons for early warning in hyperspace. I've got a very strange feeling like I've missed something, and you know how that narks me. Have a heavy frigate squadron assigned to protect the jump gate and have a carrier dispatched there too. Have all gun crews speed up the overhaul of their systems and have all fighters ready to launch in short notice. Send a communique to our reserves and have them brought up closer to assist if they're needed. Jack before you do all that, check up on when our supply ships will arrive in system."

Captain Bush was on duty on the bridge when the com officer got his attention, informing him that there was a gold channel message coming in.

"Put it through to the main screen, Lieutenant." Commodore Rhineheart appeared on screen. He was the sector quartermaster.

"Well hello there, Commodore. I wasn't expecting a message from you personally, sir."

"Well Jack, I was brought up to speed about the messages and especially the one asking for your supply ships. I think I should speak to John and you right away."

"OK, sir. I'll get it transferred immediatly. Lieutenant, transfer this to Commodore Raven's duty room."

Just then, Commodore Raven walked onto the bridge.

"So please, go ahead, Stephan. What's wrong with my supply ships?"

"John you should have had them. Even at worse case, they should have been only two hours behind your task groups' first jump into the system."

" Well that confirms my gut instincts, Stephan. I'll start to deploy my reserves in a fan operation to search out for these mysterious raiders. But, Stephan, I'm putting my money on some Centauri ships in the area, and not just the ones that jumped out from the Narn system."

" Sirs, sorry for interrupting" said the communication officer " but the hyperspace patrols have come across a massive debris field and scans shows it's our supply ships."

" Did you hear that, Stephan? That's made it crystal clear from our end. I'll order heavy escorts on all our convoys and I might just send some of our newer supply vessels as a nasty surprise for the Centauri."

On Centauri Prime, the nervous Lords of the Centaurum walked around, looking for ways to hide their fear of the events what were taking place all the time, around the once proud Republic. Refa was shouting at his Fleet commanders, trying to get ships to Centauri Prime for a take over and the search for a way to end the war, or until the Centauri have caught up in the technology difference.

"I want all remaining forces to assemble at Centauri Prime; even those in deep range secret bases. We need those ships here."

"Sire, we can't get through to them. We are hoping they haven't found them, for if they have, we have lost."

"Admiral, I won't allow you to talk of defeat. We will never fail in protecting our worlds and our people. Could we trick them into landing on Nakaleen? We all know what happened to our colonies there and what it was like cleaning it up. It was just like a blood bath" said the Emperor.

"My Lord, as I know I don't have long for this life, I will bring you the bad news you so don't want to hear. All of the Centauri Republic has either fallen or is under heavy assault. We no longer have any reserves. I ordered all forces to Centauri Prime days ago. Since that time, we have only had our forces boosted by fifteen-hundred other ships. We have some under construction here, but not enough to reclaim the whole Republic" said Lord Refa.

There were no more contacts or aggressive action taken in the Shu system for two days until the supply ships arrived. This time, they were escorted by three full squadrons of Yamato class dreadnaught warships. They traveled off the hyperspace beacon just enough to hide their presence and protect the convoy from attacks. At this point, sixty jump vortexes formed in front of the convoy and the hybrids moved forward to intercept the aggressors. The Centauri ships were caught off guard as the Earth supply ships set their engines in full reverse to slow them down as well as slamming the engines hard to port, moving off the beacon. Then they powered down. When that was all done, and in the time it took the vortexes to first open and the Centauri ships to head through, in that moment the Yamato ships moved forward, springing into action, all greeting the sixty Centauri Primus class battle cruisers with surrender hails.

The Centauri battle cruisers tried so hard to evade the weapons fire of the Yamato class warships, but the Centauri ships couldn't breach the shields on the Yamatos and with every explosion came new failed attempts to breach the shields, with Centauri warships exploding in every direction. They found it virtually impossible to breach and when they did they still caused no damage. The Centauri realized they were going to be ripped apart if they stayed and tried to slog it with five ships that had minor damage to their engines. They moved to ram the Earth warships. While the other twenty-seven remaining ships tried to return to normal space, as soon as they entered their vortexes, MK 15 missiles were launched at them to destroy the ships. At the same time they were firing all their weapons at the Centauri ships, on the now enemy vessels on a ramming course with the Yamatos. The already damaged ships didn't last long before they exploded, causing minor damage to the Yamatos, which resumed course with their supply ships for Commodore Raven's group in the Shu system.

The first hyperspace battle by the Earth Alliance was a victory, but it also showed that it was a very risky thing. The only reason they survived with no casualties was due to their shielding system. The Centauri fully lost their battle group: all sixty battle cruisers; most while trying to escape to normal space, but the bulk of the damage was done in hyperspace, forcing them to retreat.

"Stephan, you have to deal with this operation I have planned out and for the other two sister ships to help out. Camelot is waiting for us while Merlin and the Penn Dragon are on route they will both be ready to aid you in a handful of hours. Wait until they are close, then jump and attack. Bring Centauri Prime down to its knees and then I will deal with them in my own unfair way" laughed His Majesty as he walked to the lift door.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, His Majesty got up out of bed and requested some breakfast be made for him. It was sent to the chamber, however, when the council was starting to arrive. He went and got a fast shower and changed into different clothes. He then started to make his way to the final meeting. When he finally arrived, he found he was the third person to arrive. "I'm sorry for yesterday. Have you all had something to eat and would any of you like something to drink?" asked His Majesty.

"No, it's OK, Sire. We have just eaten" replied Senator Bush.

"Well that's more than I can say for me. I've asked for refreshments and breakfast sent to us. As I bet you would all like this war to end so we may start out looking for peaceful races to make contact with. Am I correct, everyone?" replied His Majesty.

King Antony slowly moved round to take his seat in the centre. Just as he sat down, the first of eight silver trolleys were wheeled in, with the smell of fresh kippers, toast, eggs of different types, sausages, and bacon. The variety of smells were getting their mouths watering with all the different aromas coming from the trolleys.

"Your Majesty, may I ask why you had the food brought in here? As far as I know, we just managed coffee or tea this morning" asked Senator Clinton.

"It's simple. I want to remind Sebastian of what he used to be and the joys of being Human" replied His Majesty.

At this point the remaining council members entered the room and within minutes in walked Sebastian, clicking his walking stick as he walked in the room. He sniffed the air and started to smile.

"You can't beat a typical English cooked Breakfast. Do I smell kippers as well?" asked Sebastian.

"You do indeed, Sebastian. You can help your self to some more sins of the flesh if you like" replied His Majesty.

Sebastian sat down at the place that was marked for him and one of the royal house hold staff brought him some kippers with scrambled eggs. He thanked the person who brought him the food and started to eat the plate of food. While every one else watched, he ate the food with manners on par with His Majesty. He placed his knife and fork down and picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth, looked at His Majesty and smiled.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for that cooked breakfast. It's been such a long time and it's like it was a distant memory of another life" said Sebastian.

"You're welcome, Sebastian. Can we now move on to the matters at hand? The government which you now serve wishes Earth to stop their war against the Centauri Republic. Will you be able to answer the questions we have to ask you to see if you are telling the truth? The questions Sebastian are Whom do you serve? What do you want? Where are you going? Why are you here?.

Sebastian looked with consternation on his face. Then he looked at the council members. Finally, his cold eyes settled on His Majesty. "You have asked the four most dangerous questions in the known universe. They are a set of questions that should not be answered by any single person in a single place and you have asked them" replied Sebastian.

Back in hyperspace, near Centauri Prime, the last world that hadn't been attacked and in some cases been invaded, Stephan was awaiting the ready orders of the other Throne Ship class vessels that would be used to smash the Centauri defenses.

"Sir, we have Marshal Fredrik Zhukov on Gold channel. He's commanding the Penn Dragon" Said Commander Stubbs.

"Well boys and girls, it looks like we have to do this without His Majesties input. However, we do have his entire battle plan for Centauri prime. We are just waiting the second battle Fleet under Marshal Patton. With this type of fire power, no matter what they throw at us, we should win" said Zhukov in a hopeful tone.

"Stephan, I understand that His Majesty has given all control of the Throne Ship to you. Is that correct?" asked Zhukov.

"Yes, and he's given me a battle plan that I have to follow to the letter and if I have to call in reinforcements, I have to use what's close by. That's all I know of them, sir" replied Von Koyster.

"Zhukov to all Throne Ship class vessels: the Merlin has arrived, so deploy all fighters, deploy all bombers, deploy all escort and patrol ships for the counter strike option and have all heavy ships stay close. We are going to need all their added fire power to win this."

"All ships, activate vortex engines now. All ships into attack formation. Fighters and bombers to the rear and accelerate forward at maximum speed. Engage their fighters and other smaller craft" ordered Zhukov.

"All fighters, this is CAG alpha. You all heard the orders. Line up on your mothership's rear for initial jump protection." Within seconds the fighters and bombers started to move off to the rear of their parent vessels.

Thousands of jump points immediately opened up straight in front of the last remaining Centauri fleet. Before they had a chance to move aside, energy dampening weapons were being fired through the vortexes. This worked like nothing before. The entire Centauri fleet was hit; some with as few as 60 pulses; others as many as hundreds. Even the last Space stations were hit, powering them down and in so doing, took down the friend and foe energy mines too. That left Centauri Prime completely defenseless.

"This is Zhukov to fleet… ignore those ships and stations. We need them intact. Keep dampening weapons fully charged and full power to shields as well. It's time to stir the Lion of the Galaxy and roll it over so we can tickle its belly while our children play among its once proud lands" laughed Zhukov.

"Marshal Zhukov, if I may" asked Major Grenshi, a female Chlon officer who was assigned as Zhukov's aid.

"Now Grenshi, you should just ask or say what's on your mind" replied Zhukov in a warm kind voice.

"Let's hail the Emperor and demand their unconditional surrender. This looks like all that they have left in ships, apart from some under construction on the planet's surface" replied Grenshi.

"You heard the Major. Send our request to them, and if they haven't replied within sixty of our minutes, we will start firing on their planetary defense bases and then on their major cities one by one. Send that and let's see what happens. I really don't care if Earth Gov moves for peace. I act for the protection of our people. We'll hold our positions for now. Bring aboard as many ships as we can as a sign of good will, but shoot them again, just to be on the safe side" ordered Zhukov.

"Sire, we have just had a message from these Humans. They want us to surrender. They have the ability to power down Centauri Prime if we don't. If this is what they have been doing to our fleet, then no wonder their ships remain intact. We have sixty of their time periods called minutes to reply or they will start planetary assaults" said Lord Diro.

In hyperspace, the battered hull of the once proud Centauri warship Lady Vandeem was very close to their proud home world. Not knowing of the massed enemy fleet in their home system, Acting Captain Sande gave the order to activate jump engines and to bring them into orbit of Centauri Prime.

"Sir, we have an enemy vessel trying to form a jump vortex. Should we jam it or redirect it?"asked Commander Steven Blair.

"Relocate it to the orbit of Centauri Prime. Let them send their message, saying they have lost. We already know they have" replied Zhukov.

As the Lady Vandeem exited hyperspace, Sande saw the Earth warships all around his world and the once proud navy was no more.

"Hail Centauri Prime and send them all the information we carry and to let them know that they have more deadly weapons than those darn energy draining weapons they use" said Sande in a defeated voice.

"Then, my council, you have heard the threats and have seen from the reports of the Lady Vandeem what our fate is. Do we have any other choice in the matter?" asked Emperor Temgaron rhetorically. "Then it looks like my last act as being Emperor will be to sign it over to another race, as we are a conquered race. I think now, looking back, I should have killed those traitors that pushed me into power and forced Count Mollari from Centauri prime. That, I have to say, was and still is my biggest mistake" said Emperor Temgaron. "Send a message to their fleet that we surrender. All things Centauri are now Earth's. Send it before I kill myself, people, and send it NOW!"he screamed. He knew that Count Mollari's god son would be here soon to take his rightful place as leader. He also knew that his people would be classed as slaves to these Humans. They would probably be treated like they treated their slaves, and he himself would be forced to do manual labor. His thoughts spun around in so many different directions, he was making him self feel rather nauseous from it.

"That's a very interesting way in which you have been taught how not to answer a question straight forwardly. I have to ask you if you give out classes and if so can I sign up?" asked Senator Bush.

"Your Majesty, it's time we vote and your vote, as always, only counts in a draw. Please people vote 'yes' if you think we should search for peace and answer 'no' if you think we should continue this war until the bloody end" said Prime Minister Sarah McLeod. Within minutes the vote was given and there was a consensus of ninety percent who voted to end the war. The remaining ten percent stayed neutral.

"Sebastian, it looks like your three visits have worked out well. We will stop the advancing of our forces and search for a way to end this war" said His Majesty.

"Then Your Majesty will be returning back to his ship to stop the attacks?" asked Sebastian.

"Yes, my boy. We will stop the war and order our troops to stop pressing the Centauri forces" replied His Majesty.

"Then I best set way and return. Make sure you get a Psi Diplomat, as I think we might need one for this mission. Have the peace talks at the Gorash System. Send a message to Narn and ask them to send an envoy to the Gorash system for peace talks with the Centauri and inform that I will personally be there. That should gain their trust" instructed His Majesty. "While I remember, send an order from Earth with stand down orders, unless you are attacked and then neutralize the target and capture crew for interrogation."

The doors opened on the deck of the Throne Ship. There were no panicked voices and no warning noises coming from the sensors.

"Com, open a fleet wide channel." As the communications officer complied, he spoke again. "Antony to all vessels: this is no drill. Stand down your weapons and return to primary mothership for repairs. Earth Gov have chosen to seek out a means to end the war" ordered His Majesty.

"Sire, the Centauri Emperor surrendered no less than three hours ago. We smashed aside what defenses they had and what ships were left behind quickly fell at our combined fire power; but you would have guessed that as the plan went as you wrote it" said Von Koyster.

"Well Stephan, it looks like the poor Centauri haven't had their fill yet. We will have to escort them to Gorash system for talks. Then my plans for this world will come to fruition" laughed His Majesty.

" I will have to head to the Gorash system for formal peace talks with these Centauri and the Narn. The Narn are astounded that we have managed to do to the Centauri what they did to them. They wish us all the hopes of the Universe and advise us to keep an eye on them always" said His Majesty.

"Sir, we have just intercepted a message from Earth, asking for the Centauri to take part in peace talks in the Gorash system."

"Hail them now" ordered His Majesty. He watched as the Centauri diplomat appeared on the screen and addressed him formally. "I'm His Royal Highness, King Antony of Earth. If you don't have any vessels capable of taking you to the Gorash system, we will be happy to repair enough ships for you so you can make the journey in Royal Comfort" offered His Majesty.

"I'm Lord Refa. Emperor Temgaron's personal escorts were not harmed during this war, but be warned, barbarian, if any harm comes to our emperor, I will hunt you down."Refa said with a distrustful tone.

"Tsk, tsk… you have strength, but not the ability to use it. We know how to fight and I can't wait until I turn Centauri Prime into my outer Capital. I hope you really don't mind that my other ships will be remaining behind" replied His Majesty in a very sarcastic tone that made people in ear shot smirk with amusement.

"Well, Lord Refa, do you still hold on to the chances that our grand military that made us the Lion of the Galaxy can still turn this disaster around? I'm still waiting for you to turn your self over. Better yet, I wish to see the humans hand you over to the Narns so they can Feast on your bones" said the Emperor hautily.

"Sire, we still have a number of ships on Centauri Prime that can make a jump away to safety" said Mollari.

"It is all right. I will not run and hide from the mistakes my people have made and from the disaster brought to our door. I sit here and now and wonder why we started the war with the Xon and if they were just defending them selves. We shall never know the answer until we meet the Great Maker" replied the Emperor.

"Sire, we have just received yet another message from these humans, and in this one it's saying if we wish peace we must attend a conference at Gorash system, where we can hammer out all the fine points to keeping a peaceful universe for us all to live in" said Refa.

"It looks like they may be a foolish race after all, but they are also very dangerous. It's about working out what we can and can't do with them" replied Mollari.

"It looks like the Humans intercepted the message at the same time we got it. Refa, you claimed your personal staff had deciphered their langue and that's why we trusted the information you gave us" said Diro in a more than angry tone.

"Hail the Humans. State that we are ready to launch the Imperial escort wing. We will follow His Majesty's Ship to Gorash to start the talks" ordered Temgaron.

"Acknowledge their hail and inform them that we stand ready to escort them" replied Von Koyster.

"Has the one hundred and first tactical fleet reported in after their mission?" asked His Majesty.

"Yes, Sire. They reported that their area of space is free from all aggressive sorties. We thought that was a strange report, but if you understand it that's all that matters" replied Von Koyster.

It was day three of the Centauri War Armistice talks. With reports now in, the Centauri were alarmed with how fast they lost their main factory world. The mighty Centauri navy could only produce now in limited numbers around worlds that could formerly produce the parts to manufacture new ships on planetary construction yards. Communications with the Centauri started on this day, with the local Military commanders from all sides. The highest level diplomat from Earth was on route to take over the official talks. Her name was Susan Wong. Wong was more than a mere ambassador. She was a level 14 Psi Diplomat, trained to high level first contact operations and was only one of eight hundred thousand, three hundred and nine agents higher than a level 12, and the other names were hidden away for security reasons.

Her mission was to bring peace and at the same time to allow the Earth Alliance to claim the systems they took from the Centauri without any form of rebuke from them at a later time. The diplomatic meetings were served in a way that a telepathic delegation was sent to make sure that the diplomats minds weren't scanned for extra information. However, a human telepath with a rating of p10 and above was stronger than any Centauri telepath, but six fully trained p12 Psi Guardians were far stronger than their six Centauri telepaths. By the end of the day, both delegations had arrived at the Gorash system, where Earth Force had made a makeshift star base for extra security and was now being used for the diplomatic talks.

The meeting started with the Earth diplomat Susan Wong addressing the Narn and Centauri delegations jointly. She started out simply putting a test out to see what surface thoughts this would bring out and to see if she could exploit them further. During her telepathic scans, she noticed that her Psi Guardians were also doing their jobs, sending fake thoughts to their Centauri counterparts. She learned that Earth had, in fact, captured the primary ship building yard for the entire Centauri Republic and that they had enough ships left to last only a hand full of minutes at best; as long as they didn't counter attack Centauri Prime. Susan thought to herself ' If only they knew they have only the ships here and deep underground on Centauri prime.' She laughed to herself when thinking that.

When Susan sat down, the Centauri Diplomat Lord Miro stood up and addressed everyone present and bowed his head respectfully to Susan and G'Vol, the Narn representative. He began to speak of the sorrow they set in motion with the Narns and nowthe indignity at the hands of the humans. They now knew how the Narns felt.

"I've been appointed by my Emperor to start talks on ending this war. What I mean by that is I want to find out what you all want and how best to make amends for our combined errors. As I said, the misleading of the Narn, enslaving them and taking over their worlds were a few of the great injustices of this conflict. Also, there was the foolish mistake of entering what you humans call the Vega system and attacking your leader's flagship. Yes, we hold our hands up in surrender; yes, the Vega system was once ours, and yes, we abandoned it over twenty of your Earth years ago and we started a useless and pointless war because of it. This to us was a great injustice on our part, as those ships had no orders to be in that area of space. So we hereby state that all systems except the Tolonius system you may keep under your governments' controls and there will be a substantial compensation package set up as well." He bowed his head and sat down again, keeping his eyes on the table in front of him all the time.

G'Vol looked over to Susan and she nodded to him her agreement. Then he stood up and said "We thank the Centauri for admitting their foolish ways and we also thank you for giving our worlds back. For the compensation, we will have to see if that's enough to make up for what has been done to our worlds. I can't speak for the Humans, but for my fellow Narn, we agree on the terms, but we will hold off until the financial side is sorted. I hereby ask for a break in talks and for a continued cease fire till this meeting stops. All rise… there will be a twenty-six hour break. Enjoy your visit and feel free to look around."

Susan and G'Vol walked out of the conference room with smiles on their faces. It was Susan who spoke up first.

"Now that was way better than what I was expecting. I thought they might fight for some more of their systems, unless that Tolonius system is more important than they want us to know. All the information I've got on that system, it does look to be a massive factory world and it can throw out large amounts of ships in a very short time. Well I can say now that His Majesty will agree to their terms but I know he has something in store for them even though they surrendered to us. So I think I better head to my office and fill in my report and send it to all those that I have to keep updated." She nodded to G'Vol. It's a great deal for your people and it's only a matter of time to see what else they will give, but don't get too greedy my friend."

G'Vol looked in awe at Susan as she walked away, knowing deep down she was right. Even though when the humans first arrived he thought they were going to be just like the Centauri, but the events of the last few days had shown him how wrong he was. Plus, these humans were giving them technology, and they were helping to design their new range of heavy cruisers. There were even talks of a frigate and a dedicated carrier as well. Human weapons were very powerful, but the Narn wanted only the types of weapons that they had fully understood the workings of.

"All present, please rise" stated one of the room's sentries. All three parties returned to the meeting room the very next day.

"The people of Earth can't accept your terms, ambassador Miro. Your planetary government officials have already signed a unconditional surrender only days ago. This is what your people will do for Narn: You will pay Narn to replace every single shipand space station lost during your war. Do you understand Miro?" asked Susan Wong.

"Yes, we understand" replied Miro.

"Now for the former Centauri Republic: His Majesty is going to deal with all sides that are on Centauri Prime. We both know your former Emperor Temgaron never left your world. As such, His Majesty will be heading back there soon to start talks on what is happening there" instructed Susan Wong.

Above Narn, the Earth mobile construction ships were in the final phases of constructing ten G'Quan class heavy cruisers, five T'ra class battle carriers, twenty Thal'kar attack cruisers, sixty Thantus class heavy frigate, one hundred and thirty Shu'kar class corvettes, three hundred Talon class heavy fighter squadrons, and six hundred Frazi class medium fighter squadrons. The speed in which they were built was shocking for the Narn military, who had a hard time finding the crews for these wonderful state of the art warships.

The Centauri finally re-convened the meeting on the 6th day of the Earth Centauri war Armistice: Earth date, 1st December 2120. It was the official day that the war and occupation of the now Narn Regime ended. Just seconds after the signing of the surrender document by all three parties, the prototype G'Quan battle cruisers, T'ra battle carriers and Thal'kar attack cruisers opened jump vortexes and arrived in the system to show the Centauri that the Narn had some heavy new ships at the ready.

G'Vol in a shocked voice asked "Are those the ships your government was building for us? Now that was very fast, Susan. How many is Earth building for the Regime?"

"Well G'Vol, that's a simple question to answer. We are replacing every single ship that the Centauri destroyed and after that, the Regime can pay us to build more or you can build them. King Antony is making a gift to the Regime. It will be ready in twenty-four days. It's an Earth holiday called Christmas. It's a time of giving and His Majesty likes to give gifts, and the rumor is he's paid for a lot of those cruisers G'Quan things out side. I'm sorry. I'm not a soldier. I'm a diplomat, so I never really know the names of warships unless I'm going to be on one." Susan looked over at Miro and continued. "The fate of your world stands with others. You must hurry home to make sure it's safe for your new King. What he's going to do with your noble houses I don't know. Some will suffer. Those who have made threats or even acted against him will most certainly suffer."

"Yes, but will the right ones pay the price of our greed and corrupt ways?" asked Lord Miro.

"Well, I can tell you that he will know those who lie to him and they will suffer, but pay no heed to that. Look after no one but your self. Trust me on that" replied Susan.

Miro started to walk to the landing platforms, knowing that his world was about to change. For the better or for the worse, he didn't know and didn't care anymore. His thoughts drifted back to his child hood, watching his father bossing the household Narn servants around, and how he had thought it was the greatest thing in the world. Then he started to think of his mother and his father, both fighting over the rights of a so called female slave whom his mother had freed. In doing so, he had her killed.

"Well Captain, let's hope this change in power is for the best. If it's not, then I think we all might become our own worst fears. Most of our wealth will be used to rebuild both Narn and Earth. They will always keeping us under their thumbs, or that's how we would do it. However, these Humans are strange. They drag us here only to find that this is only part of the process" said Lord Miro.

"My Lord, we will no doubt see all things happen for the betterment of Centauri Prime. We lost the war, but let's just see what happens now. You might be heavily surprised" replied Captain Ralox.

Miro walked to his seat, with his guards taking the seats flanking him.

"This is your pilot speaking. Make sure you are ready for take off. We have started our taxiing."

"Well that was to the point. We must have been given transit clearance already" said Miro to Ralox.

"Transport Miro requesting escort and clearance for travel to Centauri Prime" said Lieutenant Davo.

"Transport Miro, you have permission to dock aboard the Royal space Yacht. You will be guests of His Majesty for the short journey to Centauri Prime. Have a safe and pleasant journey" said Admiral Von Koyster.

"Your Majesty, the Transport ship Miro has just started final docking stages. We are now ready to enter Hyper space and cleared for maximum drive speed" informed Flight Captain John Ross

"Excellent. Make best speed to Centauri Prime and make quarters near to mine ready for the Centauri delegation. I will go down and meet them in person" replied His Majesty. Within moments the Royal Yacht and their escorts had entered hyperspace and were moving off towards Centauri Prime.

The Transport Miro doors opened and standing there was Lord Miro himself.

"Greetings Lord Miro. Welcome aboard my Royal Yacht. I've had quarters assigned for you and your personnel close to mine in case you think it's dangerous aboard" inferred His Majesty.

"Thank you, Your Highness. It's a great honor to finally meet you" replied Lord Miro.

"Well, Lord Miro, thank you for being honest with me, but you have no need to suck up to me. Just relax and be normal. I know your house had no direct role except for protecting what's yours and for protecting Centauri Prime. Well I can be kind to you, so I will be kind. Your house will be safe from any actions" replied His Majesty.

The journey went faster than most for the distance they traveled. Miro was shocked that the journey took half the time it would have for the fastest Centauri ship in service or one under development.

"All passengers, brace yourselves for transition to normal space" came the voice over the speakers.

"Your Majesty, for security reasons, you should share my transport and we can journey to the Palace together" asked Lord Miro.

"Then you think my life might be in jeopardy down there" replied His Majesty.

"Not really, Sire. I mean that you may be a new target for assassins and they are very rife on Centauri Prime, Your Majesty" replied Miro.

The transport ship Miro started its landing descent to the royal landing platform at the rear of the royal palace. Once it landed, House guards from House Miro ran down the ramp with His Majesty's personal guards following them.

"Lord Miro, I think I should have warned you that I'm a Techno-mage and I'm regarded as the strongest alive now. What I have to do is for my god father as he brought me up after my parents' deaths and he saved my life."

"Welcome to Centauri Prime, Your Majesty" said Miro in a warm and pleasant tone.

"My Lord, the whole Centaurum is present and awaiting to hear the words of this Human who you have brought for us to hear."

His Majesty just looked at them and then at his men "Guards, please remain here. I'm not in harm's way, but if you don't hear back from me every ten minutes please have all of my Gaim Guards bought down" ordered His Majesty.

Lord Miro and his guards escorted King Antony to the throne room to speak to Emperor Temgaron and his Centaurum. As they got close to the throne room they heard laughter â€œIs this normal for this place Lord Miroâ€ asked Antony â€œUnfortunately yes it's normalâ€ replied Miro. They walked into the throne room, passing four guards who stood to attention as they both passed by. â€œThat Your Majesty is not normal. They only do that for the Emperorâ€ stated Miro.

As soon as they both entered the room everyone fell silent, looking straight at them

"Greetings and welcome to Centauri Prime, Sire. We hope you make this your new home or at least your home away from home" said Lord Mollari.

"I wish to speak to Lord Refa and the former Emperor Temgaron. If they don't wish to face me now, then I will have no option but to erase their houses from Centauri Prime and replace them with my own and several other house names from Earth. If you think I can't or won't do this, then think again. This will only make what happens to those that try and stand in my way suffer more. Have you all forgotten who and what I am?" said His Majesty in a force full tone.

King Antony raised his hands and his staff appeared and on the staff was the house crest for Houses Kiro, Dei, Tuscano, Mollari, Turhan, Cartagia and Refa.

"I understand that they were the seven greatest houses of them all time and you can see they are mine by birth right of my God Father, who left them all to me in his will. I also have a claim to the throne as well via birth right. Do any of you present wish to fight for the right to my claims? Say nowor forever leave it in my blood line" ordered His Majesty.

"Well, we do have some what of a problem. Many of our people were lost in the war with your people. We don't have the ships or man power to protect us for a while. So we are asking for Earth ships to patrol our space now too" asked Refa, walking into the room without a care in the world.

"You mean my territory. We have already started to deploy our ships along your borders and throughout its inner systems to stop raiders feeding on our shipping lanes. Yes Refa, you're just the person I wanted to see. For your crimes against me and Earth, I'm hereby dissolving your house and replacing it with an Earth Name. Whoever comes in ownership of your former house will, if he so wishes, take on a member of your family as his partner, to keep your former family to the life they must be accustomed to. As for your wealth, consider it a gift to me. After all, you ordered the attack that started the war and led to your once proud people now being conquered. The slave race of yours called the Golians will be freed now and given their full independence. However the Thenavl system will remain in our hands. Make it so, people and you all have my permission to leave, but please bring the Four telepathic advisors to me as I wish to see if they can keep me up to date" instructed His Majesty.

A few moments later, the four telepathic women came in. They bowed in front of him and just waited.

"Well you must know why I've brought you or I should say asked you to pay me a visit" said His Majesty.

"Well no, Sire. Your mind is closed to us. We can't read it. We hope we can still send that information long distances to you" replied all four telepaths together.

"Now I have to ask if it would alter your insight if I was also a telepath?" asked His Majesty.

"Now yes, only if you blocked us out, but you could if you are stronger than us help us enhance our strength and distance as we do have limits to our range" replied all four again.

"I will lower my mental defenses to allow your entry into my mind but at gradual levels. I must warn you: don't stray or do anything unwise to shock me . You won't like what would happen" admonished His Majesty. They started to scan him but they felt the sheer strength of his mind and what he could do. They forgot what they were asked to do by former Lord Refa for a moment, but in that split second, Antony saw what Refa had said and what he wanted them to do.

"Now ladies, what will happen to you if you try to follow out Refa's orders and burn my mind out?" asked Antony.

"You will destroy us. Even combined, we know we aren't strong enough even in your sleep to break your mental walls down" Replied Lashan, the leader of the four.

"Please tell me your names, ladies" asked Antony. The first to step forward called herself Lashan, the second was called Demoria, the third was Baltress and the fourth was called Rezell.

"In the past, it was very common for the Emperor to have at least one of his four wives sleep in his bed chambers in case of disaster" said Baltress.

"Well I have plenty of protection on Centauri Prime now that my Gaim guards have landed. However I think it would be wise to have one in the room and the other three moved closer as it's a strange world and I might need something from the kitchen" stated Antony.

"Well then you better have Rezell stay. She's the youngest and we all hate being awakened at stupid times" replied Demoria. "But you do have a servant. I should say its more like a slave woman who gets all your food and drinks and is your taster as well."

"What do you mean I may have a slave woman and tasters? That sounds so barbaric. We on Earth got rid of such things, but I don't want to break all your customs in a single night. I will see this slave to see why she's a slave" demanded His Majesty. This action brought a smile to all four ladies straight away. " Now will you explain why you smiled when I said what I did?" asked Antony in a rather perplexed tone.

"She was once our sister and Lord Refa took a liking to her and trumped up some charges against her and had her become his personal sex slave. We cried our selves to sleep for what things he did to her. She's in pain now still because of him" replied Lashan.

"Please go bring her to me and tell her I won't hurt her. I want to see if I can remove the pain and repair the damage that's been done to her" stated Antony.

"Your majesty, this is Rouvein" said Lashan. She was about the same age as Rezell; maybe a bit older or that's how she looked.

"So Rouvein, can you tell me about your self? You should know I'm a strong telepath and techno-mage, so if I can heal or remove the pain and night mares you now suffer from, I will do my best to help" informed His Majesty.

"Sire, I'm not worth your care. I'm a play toy for the savage Lords who think because I was once pretty that they can do what they want to me" replied Rouvein.

"On my world that's called rape. They tortured you and you did what they asked. No, that's worse than rape" replied Antony. "I've seen first hand what your males can do to females, so trust me, it will never happen again. If you wish to feel safe, sleep in my bed. I will sleep in the chair so you can have a good sleep and I will carry a gun for protection. You can pick one of your sisters to sleep with you and that way you know you're not alone" stated Antony. â€œWell sire we heard from servants of Lord Miro that you would make changes and some people would hate you for itâ€ said Rezell. "The only people who need to fear me are the slave traders. We must get a good night sleep as we have the first shipments of Earth equipment to Centauri Prime. Plus I have to choose which of my four lady telepaths will come with me or stay here" said Antony.

"Sire, is it true that the Centaurum wishes you to marry or take a mate of Centauri blood to keep Centauri blood on the throne?" asked Lashan.

"Yes you're right and my government back home doesn't want me to be forced into marriage again. My late wife died and I'm now a widower, so at some point, I may choose to have a wife again. Yes and Earth government is looking into increasing the amount of husbands and wives a person can take" replied Antony.

"Our silly old laws state that a husband can have as many wives as he wishes but the wife may only have one husband" replied Rouvein. "Sire, you need to wake up" said Rouvein and Rezell together as they rocked him side to side to gently wake him up.

"What in the… how am I in bed ladies? I fell asleep in the chair, making sure no one would hurt either of you, or at least that was my plan" replied Antony.

"The transports will be in orbit in the next few hours. You have time to get a shower while we get you some food and bring you a selection of drinks, Sire" replied both the ladies in tandem.

"Well ladies, if you keep this up, I will be making sure I either stay or every place I go I take both of you with me. Time for my shower, ladies. Can one of you show me how to use it? It's different to what we use on Earth" replied Antony rather shyly. That caused both of the ladies to blush and both ran to show him.

"If you need anything else, you just have to ask" said Rouvein and Rezell. They winked at him, smiled, left the room and headed to the kitchen.

In the kitchen stood a human chef who was waiting on the two ladies.

"So can either of you fine ladies tell me what His Majesty would like for breakfast?" asked head chef Reynolds.

"We don't know. We were going to cook up a Centauri breakfast for him. You can cook up what ever you wish. What's left, we get to eat and I know I'm starving" replied Rouvein.

"Make that both of us are starving, so cook what you like and we will do the same."

With great thanks to my Beta Reader Susan Hilton without her hard work the beta edition wouldn't be around.

HOPE YOU LIKED THE CHAPTER. SORRY IF IT WAS TOO LONG.

I WILL BE BACK WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER IKARIAN THEFT VERY SOON.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 3 THE IKARIAN THEFT. PART ONE.

After being on Centauri Prime for just two weeks, his Majesty needed to head back to Earth. However, before he left Centauri Prime, he placed Prince Robert and his new bride Princess Eugena as the crowned Prince and Princess of Centauri Prime. Their Centauri advisor was given the position of Prime Minister. Lord Miro was astounded that he had made such an impact on his Majesty that he placed him with the same authority as the Crown Prince. They would both meet with Lashan, Demoria and Baltress every day and sometimes even more than that.

Rouvein and Rezell were given the role of being the escorts to his Majesty. They felt more at ease around him and the other humans.

"Now Prime Minister Miro, how have you adjusted to being so powerful and wealthy? All I ask is to look after our people with the ability I know you have. Also, I want you to educate my Son and New Daughter- in- law on which way is best to lead our people. Don't forget, my friend, on the Earth Day of December 25th, of the year 2121, you and our people will get a gift which I hope shows I mean you no harm" informed his Majesty.

"Do we get a hint to what it is so we know how best to break it to the people? They feel that we have betrayed them and let them down. Will it bring back our heart and our faith in the universe?" replied Prime Minister Miro.

"You have to wait like everyone else, but I won't fail you or our people. Remember that the Centauri Republic is now a part of Earth and I will never let Earth fall" replied his Majesty.

Rezell walked into the throne room aboard his Majesty's royal space yacht, finding King Antony there.

"My King, the pilot has informed us that we will be taking off back to Earth in five minutes. Is there any information about our new home world we can read? We would like to study and make sure we don't clash with the customs of your world" asked Rezell.

"Well, all the information you will ever need is on the computer, Rezell. While I think I don't know much about Centauri female fashion sense, I bought you all new wardrobes anyway. If you are going to be traveling with me, then you will have to get used to the change in fashion… and I like to spend money" replied his Majesty with a smile.

Both Rouvein and Rezell looked at Antony with shocked expressions. Then Rouvein said "My King, warships are not cheap. Even you cannot afford that many ships all at once" she said in a startled whisper that got Rezell's full attention.

"Ladies, I didn't even spend a single hour's interest in my whole Christmas day shopping spree" replied Antony.

They started to head to the flight deck, where Rouvein was waiting for them.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to spend your money on us. We have all the things we could ever ask for" said Rouvein.

"Well ladies, what can I say? I'm the richest person in the Earth Alliance. I'm also now the richest person in the Brakiri zone, and with the wealth from which I was left from my godfather and what I claimed, I'm the richest person in the Centauri zone. So, I think I can afford to spend money like there's no tomorrow" explained His Majesty.

On December 25th, Christmas day, zero eight hundred Earth time, early warning sirens started to go off in all sectors around Narn as jump vortexes opened. Popping out of them were tens of thousands of Narn warships. In total, some five thousand G'Quan class, twelve hundred and fifty Bin'Tak class, twelve hundred and fifty T'Ara class, ten thousand Thal'kar class, five thousand Dag'Kar class, twenty five hundred Dag'Loth class, ten thousand Rongoth class, ten thousand Var'Nic class, thirty thousand Thantus class, sixty-five hundred Shu'kar class, one ohundred and fifty thousand Talon class fighter squadrons and two hundred and twenty-five thousand Frazi class fighter squadrons. They had just arrived with a pre recorded message from His Majesty, King Antony of Earth greeting his fellow friends:

"I wish to give your newly formed Regime a Christmas gift of these ships as a gesture of my good will. Seasons greetings to you all."

At the same time on Centauri Prime, a Holographic message started to play.

"Hello my people and Happy Christmas to you all. I have several gifts for you. The first gift, to help you all during this time of change, is a month's wage for each of you, deposited into your accounts. My second gift is Centauri helpers. They are genetically enhanced Centauri, and they will help our worlds re-grow and bloom again. That will help increase the income to our worlds and reduce the tax rate you all have to pay. The next gift will be three full fleets of brand new Earth enhanced technology Primus class battle cruisers. They will be superior to your old Primus class, but they will be manned with Centauri military personnel for now. My final gift will show itself in time, but I will not say what it is. May the gods be with you, all my fellow sentient beings. I hope to see things change for the best soon."

The recording faded and a personal message was then sent to Prime Minister Miro, Lashan, Demoria and Baltress and a gift. The gift was tailored to the very needs of that person but they were amazed with how fast this Human King had gotten to know them so well.

On the distant plant of Ikara, the Human expedition leader Jo-anne Crosby was sitting at her desk in her office on the Exploration ship, Endeavour.

"Miss Crosby, you have a communication from Earth. It's on Gold Channel" announced Commander Henderson over the com system.

"It will most likely be those paper pushers back home. Don't they know that it's Christmas Day back there? Then again, it could be a call about a Christmas bonus. That's really an extreme long shot, but we can but hope. Please pipe it through to me if you don't mind, Derik" replied Jo-anne.

"Merry Christmas, Jo-anne. I bet you didn't expect to get a message from me today. I just wanted to wish you all the best for the efforts you and your team are all doing. The reason for this call is that I have to ask if there is anything you are in short supply of. If there is, I think I can pull a few strings and get you some more people" laughed His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, will we need to place extra security forces if you're coming?" inquired Jo-anne.

"I will be sending construction fleets your way and you will have a far greater role to play in the future. Parliament has decided to place a military governor on Ikara, but I have used my override and have placed a civilian leader to oversee and take charge. However, Parliament has closed for the Holidays, so you're the Archaeology Leader. When an Admiral arrives, he or she will take up military duties for orbit. There's no need to place a ground operations commander there, but if that happens that's your job… unless I'm there" laughed His Majesty.

"Thank you,your Highness, for the honor and trust you have placed in me. This is the largest site I've had control of" replied Jo-anne.

"Now, that's enough, so please stop thanking me. I see great things in you, so please prove me right. Before I have to go, I wish you a Merry Christmas. Make sure those Christmas rations are gone by the time I arrive, as I'll bring dinner."

"I'm on deploying the newly arrived archaeologists to aid the teams already there on the surface. With the recent finds of bio-organic factories on the surface, we were surprised that they looked brand new, even though they had been there for thousands of years. We brought our own new state of the art ships with better sensors to scan the planet up to a depth of two to three hundred miles deep. That would place those finds at fifteen miles deep and at least fifteen thousand years old" replied Jo-anne.

"It looks like you're doing a great job there. I will have some specialists sent to you. I'm in need of some rest time, so if I can get away myself, I will come too" informed His Majesty.

Jo-anne sat there at her desk, looking at the blank screen still in awe with what she had just heard. Then the computer in front of her bleeped, informing her that she had a message of maximum priority waiting for her to open and read. "Computer, open and play message" instructed Jo-anne.

"Greetings, Lady Jo-anne. I wish to advise you to use extreme caution on the world you are on. Grand Lord Talmarch has instructed me to come to Ikara to see if my services would be needed. We may have gone from Earth, but we still watch over you. We are so very proud and I know a lot about Ikara as you call it" said Taglart, Talmarch's son- in- law.

One of the archaeologists came running into Jo-anne's office, not thinking twice and interrupting her message from the Kirish. "I can see you have greater things to attend to. I will be with you when I arrive" replied Taglart.

"Well, David, what have you found? What's so important you burst in on me while I was talking to the Kirish?" demanded Jo-anne.

"I'm so very sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again. But this find; it can't be right. It's got us all baffled, unless the object is so large that it's actually on a landing pad or something" said David Jones, the archaeologist in charge of new technology.

"Then what else have you found to get you of all people so hyper?" asked Jo-anne.

"That's the 60 billion dollar question. We don't know. It's got me and my whole staff beat" replied David. Then he started to smirk. "Our best guess is it's a fin of a star ship, and it's either a weapon or an engine system. The scans taken of the object so far have it at a scale of five kilometers in depth at least… yes, five kilometers! You can now take that smile off your face" said David.

"That's putting it at the depth you were already at and the size it's placing it there tens of thousands of years ago" replied Jo-anne.

"Can you now see what I'm hyper about? It's old… really old, but it looks brand new" stated David.

"The word wow doesn't cover this. There's a Kirish Lord on his way here now to help us and he knows all about this world. However, for my next surprise, His Highness, Snooty Antony, might be coming as well" laughed Jo-anne.

"Jo-anne you can laugh all you want to. We need them and deep down we all know you wish you could be wife number two" said David.

It took them the best part of an hour to travel the distance from Jo-anne's camp site to the latest major find site.

"So David, let's see what spare teams I can send you. And do you need security teams?" asked Jo-anne.

"That's already been taken care of" said Major Cummings, stepping out of the shadows.

"So,Cummings, have we had any security breaches yet?" asked David.

"That's a big negative. The guardians have picked nothing up and are moving deeper into the catacombs."

"Well then, David you'd better show me what warrants all this fuss and protection" said Jo-anne.

Back on Earth, King Antony was making his final preparations for his annual Christmas speech. This year it was going to come as a shock to some, but to others a twinge of fear. As the clock counted down to his speech, he moved over to his now famous desk and coughed. He cleared his throat and started to speak as the live sign turned on.

"My fellow citizens of Earth, I wish you all the merriest of Christmas greetings, especially now that our most recent conflict has come to an end. My Christmas gift to our new friends and allies the Narn regime has arrived just thirty of our minutes ago, and my gift to our new citizens of the former Centauri Republic and Brakiri Protectorate has arrived as well. I can say that they were overjoyed to see our gift. Now getting back to this cold winter's day, I hope we have many joyful years to come. For this coming year, I'm going to be taking a sabbatical from my office on Earth, and I'm heading to one of our outer colonies to help with the archaeology digs on the planets.The recent events of this year have taken some toll on me and my family. Yes, some in my family will wish I had placed a regent here, but there's no need. I'll be kept up to date all the time. The planet I'm heading for is called Ikara. So once again, I'm wishing each and every one of you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Before I go, I hope I've not spoiled the speeches to follow of my Prime minister and my President later in the day" said His Majesty. As he walked away from his desk, he looked at the faces of his family and smiled. "It's time I have a holiday. Don't you all think so, too?"

"Yes, papa" replied his oldest daughter Eva, who, no matter what, had given her father her full support. Since the death of her mom and his wife, he had flung himself into his role as king and advisor to his parliament and senate. His family thought for some time that he wanted to die during the stages of the Centauri war. While they laid siege to both houses, they asked His Majesty to return home to safety. On his arrival back home, he heard the concerns in the minds of his family and they upset him for them to think he thought so little of them.

"So, Sire, can you tell us what you gave the people of Brakis? You haven't told us yet" asked Rouvein in a puzzled tone.

"There is an old saying on Earth: Curiosity killed the cat. Well what can I say? I've been building up their forces gradually since sending them their first Christmas gift. They get twenty fleets made up of ships I helped either design or had commissioned for them. They will also get one thousand, nine-hundred and twenty Corumai class Dreadnoughts, the same amount of Cidikair class Heavy Carriers, five thousand seven hundred and sixty Avioki class Heavy Cruisers and the same amount of Shakara class destroyers" replied his Majesty.

"Sire, this may seem strange, but why build their military up? They may wish to turn it on you if you don't give them the most advanced technology you have at your discretion" asked Rezell.

"In time, we may need the help of others. There is no reason to hold back our technology. They are family to us; just like Centauri Prime and your people" replied his Majesty.

"So what you are saying is that you have no fear that my people may one day rise up against you and use your very own technology against you" asked Rouvein.

"No, I have no fear of that, and in time, I hope your people will grow to respect and love me. The only ones who I have to fear are the ones from the houses that I ripped away their power and wealth from. If they turned against me, it would only be for revenge" replied his Majesty. Of the Brakiri, well, that's a different story. When our people from Earth introduced themselves, they knew we meant them no harm. They even greeted us in our own language. They flung the diplomatic teams off their world. At first, they didn't want to become a part of Earth. They thought they might become the weaker and poorer civilization."

"Sire, is that because, even though they knew and feared the people of Earth, they were too few and that Humans out numbered them by billions?" asked Rezell in an odd questioning way.

"No, that's far from it, ladies. It was their strict rules and old religious ways that came to the surface, warning them of a day when they would be visited by a so-called friend who would slay them. After a lot of searching through their ancient religious books, they had figured out that they mistranslated the meaning, due to two pages that had been stuck together. That caused the problems. Once that was dealt with, we became very good friends" replied his Majesty.

"That was very interesting. We had a very similar prophecy regarding the Narn and our downfall. That, too, was misread. However, I think it was out of greed for power and wealth that led to our downfall. You've seen how Centauri Prime works" replied Rouwein with a smile.

He started to walk once again to his private room. He needed to check up on some minor problems that were troubling him now, especially after that chat. The guards at his private office noticed he was heading in their direction and stood at attention and saluted as he came closer.

"Captains, I guess it's the enlisted men's dinner. I hope they like their gifts I bought them. It's the least I can do for my men" His Majesty looked at the name tags and laughed to himself. "It is Captain Julie Stephens and Captain Luke Holmes. That is correct, right?"

They both looked at each other and both together replied "Yes, sir,your Majesty"

"Good, I'm glad. I hope you didn't mind that I placed you on guard duty during this period. As I know, you both don't get to see each other as much as you would like. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me" winked his Majesty.

He then entered his private office and started to head to his desk where he went to work on drafting the type of ships he would need as escorts and what other things he could do while in that area of space. During the early expansion phase, they came into this area of space and found many dead worlds. Some had ruins and some were completely dead or undergoing nanite terraforming programs. He came across six construction fleets and ten defense fleets that haven't been assigned to any mission. Within seconds, they had been assigned to project deep defense.

On boarding the Royal space yacht Bagstaff, a jump point formed not too far from it. A small single manned craft of Kirish design appeared and hailed the Bagstaff.

"This is Taglart. I was asked to go to Ikara, but I was aware of your expedition heading there so I thought I would come with you"

"Permission is granted, Taglart and welcome aboard the Royal space yacht Bagstaff" replied Vice Admiral John Stark. He continued. "Commander Hughes, please take a security team to the landing bay and show him to his quarters and then to His Majesty his quarters" ordered Stark.

"Yes sir. They will be carrying side arms." replied Commander Kathrin Hughes.

"Inform his Majesty that Taglart has arrived and will soon be docked aboard" said Stark.

Rezell and Rouvein stood up and looked at his Majesty. A few seconds later he stood up.

"Let's go meet our visitor. You have no need to fear them. They are friends of Earth and they have helped us in many ways. Don't worry. Even without their help, our ships were stronger, faster and far more powerful. That's due to me and my family" said Antony in a caring and kind way, not to boast or scare the two ladies.

Commander Hughes and her security delegation had just arrived and taken their places when his Majesty walked in with Rouvein and Rezell.

"Not long now, Commander and you will meet a Kirish. You're just like Rouvein and Rezell. They too haven't met or spoken to a Kirish before" said his Majesty, giving the Kathrin and her security team a bit of a shock. His Majesty looked at his two lady escorts and started talking telepathically to them. 'Now Ladies, please relax. I can read your thoughts with such ease. Your sister back home will be worried silly, thinking the worst has happened to us. As I've said, they won't harm us. They are friends, so please trust me'admonished Antony in a polite and concerned tone. "Soon, everyone, we will be in hyperspace, traveling to the planet called Ikara. It's very close to the buffer zone that we have started to build for defense against the dark ancient race known as the Shadows."

Taglart's ship's door started to open up and out walked Taglart Himself, escorted by three other Kirish Lords.

"Greetings, your Majesty. My father in law sends you his best. I'm sorry if you thought there was only one of us aboard. Our ships use dimensional technology; something the other First Ones never developed for some strange reason. You, of course, know who I am. These are my escorts. The first is Sorgan. He's an expert on a race that has conquered Ikara many times, and is here just in case they left behind any traps. My second aid is Verrol. She's one of our best weapon specialists. Finally, this is Slagvort. He's our group's security officer, since we will be close to deadly Zâ-ha-dum. We could be detected by them" replied Taglart in a Kirishly protective way.

"Stark to Antony: now that the Kirish have fully docked, we are now entering hyperspace. The estimated time to Ikara is four days at maximum speed. Earth command wishes us all luck and for us to look after you" said Stark with amusement in his voice.

"Stark, don't they mean for me to look after you?" replied His Majesty, also in amusement.

"King Antony, may you and I speak privately? We need to talk. Your friends can show my party to their rooms" said Taglart in an urgent tone.

"Yes, of course. Please accompany me, Taglart. Kathrin, can you show our guests to their rooms. Rezell and Rouvein, you can go rest or get something to eat. I will call you about when you can return" requested his majesty. "Follow me, Taglart. My chambers aren't that far from here and they are free from eavesdropping equipment, as is the whole ship" revealed his majesty. After walking for a few minutes through the busy corridors of the Bagstaff, they finally reached his majesty's private chambers. "Please take a seat Taglart, and tell me what's got you so worried that you will risk being seen by the Shadows or even the others?" asked Antony.

"My father in law told you of a race called the Passatwar and how dangerous and brutal they were. They served a First One race called the Hand. The Passatwar claimed they didn't, but we believed they were. We found out later that we were wrong. They gained their technology not just from their own raids, but from finding entire fleets of deserted First One ships; adrift in space, all being completely salvageable as well. They learned and we did that the First Ones managed this. The Shadows were always out to make the strong even stronger. They made the Passatwar so strong that they became a threat to the First Ones Themselves" stated Taglart in a very concerned way.

"So do you think we will come across these Passatwar or their technology on Ikara?" asked Antony

"Yes and there will probably be much more down there. Whatever we will find will change the Human race to something we can't even guess at" replied Taglart. "The oldest of the First Ones, Lorien, was called to help us. He showed just how powerful his race was, but we had long since thought that the bulk of them had left. When he called them, they came in force and during the battle, the Passatwar disappeared. Their whole race, planets, and just loads of ships were left adrift. That's what Lorien claimed. That was the last time we saw the Passatwar and Lorien's mysterious ships. I believe my father in law told you about them. Am I correct?" He asked.

"I know just enough that I had to go to Ikara myself and know little of what I might find there. So, even though Talmarch told me most of the back story, what he didn't tell me he showed me. So we must get those ships out first and under military protection; that is if there are ships there. The Drakh, a servant of the Shadows, might come along and try and take them from us. The Ikarian Bio pods seem to be an amazing and a great find, and I've already started to work on ways to make it possible for humans to use them. Does that answer your questions? We have work to do, so please, let's get ready for Ikara" requested His Majesty.

The journey to Ikara was uneventful and very peaceful. It was a time for gathering thoughts and all the last minute items one would fail to think one might need before leaving space dock. Reports were being sent with priority com messages to try and clear the way.

The Kirish kept to themselves, not wishing to interact with the younger races unless they had to. They were busy making sure they were aware of the history of Ikara. They refused to discuss it until just nearly a day out from Ikara. Taglart was asked a question from Vice Admiral Stark

"So Taglart, can you tell me anything about this planet Ikara or what his majesty hasn't already told me?" asked Stark.

"Well, Stark, not everything there is as it seems. Don't blink, for as soon as you do it, things will move or change on you. Stay alert" answered Taglart.

Stark just looked at Taglart, trying to figure out what he meant. The more he tried, the more it made less sense to him. So, in the end, he gave up trying to guess, but kept that piece of information in his mind, just in case in might prove to be useful.

Antony walked over to Stark and whispered. "That's what happens when you ask a question that you weren't ready for. Never mind the truth. The truth is always hard to handle without knowing the outcome."

The Royal Yacht Bagstaff came out of hyperspace from the newly built jump gate. Due to there being that many ships and construction projects in orbit, it would have been too risky to make their own jump vortex.

"Inform orbital command that we have arrived and that my team will want to make its way to the surface straight away or as soon as humanly possible" instructed His Majesty.

The next 6 months flew by at amazing speed. The archaeology team had discovered and uncovered so many mysteries on Ikara, including after weeks of research, bio-organic body armor and defense suite pods for their military. With some very well placed hints and guides from His Royal Highness Antony, they found the main facility for building these pods and how to program them. The head of planetary reconstruction and xenoarchaeologist,Jo-anne Crosby, started using construction nanites to build up a secure building around the Bio-armor construction facility or what remained of it. After centuries of decay, the building was very fragile, but the computer core was heavily reinforced against orbital strikes.

During the first few days, both Rezell and Rouvein who had wished to remain on the surface of Ikara, returned back to the comforts of the Bagstaff. They felt out of place, not having any skill for the jobs that might be required, apart from their mundane and daily tasks. They felt that their sole job was to give orders and material requests to the fleet officers.

His Majesty, in the first couple of weeks, wanted to get all the data on the organic materials this world produced in abundance. After studying them all for what seemed days, and in some cases weeks, he was able to add that technology to his nanite construction probes, while working on his own private and highly classified projects that no one knew of or about.

The Kirish team was working along side David Jones' teams, and were making very fast progress at uncovering the first ship they found. Verrol had identified a Decimator class ship. She explained to Doctor Jones that a single Decimator could wipe out a fleet of First One ships without any effort. Using Kirish hand held scanners, they told the orbital ships to scan first and at what depths. Their arrival was speeding up the digs, but causing some problems. The Kirish worked without sleep or rest, so that meant around the clock teams, working all the time.

Sorgan walked up to Doctor Jones.

"Doctor Jones, can you get some of your best members of your team? I've got a major find to show you."

David looked blankly at Sorgan for a moment and then nodded.

"Lead the way, Sorgan. What have you found now?"asked David, who had obviously been preoccupied. They walked past the most recent areas cleared that still had scaffolding up to help prevent cave-ins.

"This is what I wanted you to see." Sorgan said. This weapon, as you know, is of Vorlon design; but if you scan it, you will find that it's made up of both Vorlon and Shadow technology. That combination is good for us to study, but very bad for space battles with that hull coating."

While Sorgan was outside talking to Doctor Jones and his team, Taglart, HRH Antony and Slagvort were inside the Decimator, heading to the bridge to see what damage there was and to see if the ship was fully operational.

"Well, Slagvort, your worries have proven to be unfounded. Now we just have to activate the main computer system" stated Taglart.

"That's very easy" replied his majesty, as he raised his hand and summoned his staff and began to link with the main computer. "I've rewritten their computer language to English, since I know you don't have a problem with our language and that not every one here can speak or read yours" said his majesty. That caused both Taglart and Slagvort to chuckle.

"That is wise… very wise in fact" replied Slagvort before Taglart had a chance to reply.

"Antony to Jo-anne: I've managed to rewrite the Decimator's primary language file into English and I'm requesting permission to start up the computer systems. Also, this will give us a chance to see what systems have damage and, if so, how dangerous it will be to us to be around it" stated His Majesty.

"Sire, you have the authority to call that order, and I bet you only did it to keep me informed how much work you have managed to get done" replied Jo-anne.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I bet if you could do half the things I could, you would be running circles around me. I'm not used to manual labor anymore" laughed His Majesty.

"You said it, Sire. I'll end this catch up to let you get back to work. As for Taglart, keep him busy for me please" Jo-anne smiled and then closed the com link.

Jo-anne stood at the map table with several of her area's best team leaders. "So people, how long will it take before we get those nanite construction probes we are so desperate for?"

"We received some help from His Majesty, or as you call him, the Royal pain in the butt. We should have the latest shipment arriving soon. They were cleared for priority deployment to Ikara. His Majesty also wishes to remind you that you have that ability too. As senior Archaeologist, you can order what you need and it has to be on the next transport out from the factories or supply stations" informed Louise Henderson, the head engineer.

"With forty percent of the Bio facility uncovered, and with the extreme damage to the lower levels, we can't work on clearing the lower levels until the probes have taken hold. That will still put us at least five weeks ahead of schedule. Also, the adverse weather systems haven't turned in this direction yet" explained Lisa Hopkins, the environmental control officer.

"Lisa, have you even been in a sand storm on Ikara yet? In case you haven't, they pop out of nowhere and they completely disable our equipment and force everyone to take shelter for hours. They are that fierce" replied Jo-anne.

Major Steal walked in and every one looked at him curiously. He wasn't alone.

"Excuse me, everyone. I'm just doing my security checks. We have come across a dead body and it's not been here long. I was hoping you would be able to send a medical team to look at it for me. If I go through the proper channels, his majesty will hear about it" stated Steal a bit tiredly.

"Well, we do have several medical teams here and they're always complaining they do nothing and of boredom, so please go and help yourself" replied Jo-anne.

"By your leave" replied Steal, bowing and saluting. He turned around and headed out of the tent.

"Well that was a shock. I thought nothing got into the system without the people on the ships in orbit knowing of it. It looks like we might have some competitors here or some good old fashioned grave robbers. Of course most races would call us that too" stated Jo-anne.

"Then we'd better keep our eyes open and take a security team into unchecked areas and set up check points" advised Louise.

"That could be considered overkill, so just increase our vigilance for now until we know more" advised Jo-anne. Everyone nodded in agreement to that last comment.

"Orbital command to Miss Crosby. Come in, please. This is orbital command. Please respond" requested the voice on the com link.

"Crosby here. Go ahead."

"This is Watch Commander Davis. Your latest transport ships have arrived and they have started to deploy your nanite probes in their prearranged location. However, if you wish to change location, please state now" requested Davis.

"Negative, Davis. The location is good for probes. Jo-anne out."

Back aboard the Decimator, the power up tests were finally completed and showed that there was no damage to the ship and weapons systems. King Antony walked over to what he thought was the communication station and was amazed at the range it had, even though it was still buried.

"Taglart, we might have found what you were hoping to find. I think they're the files on what happened to the Passatwar" explained His Majesty.

"What do you think, or should I say, what have the records to say for themselves?" replied Taglart.

"They perfected dimensional travel; a technology they stole from a First One race called the Walkers. They were due to test the technology and teleport their fleets and people to another part of our Universe and settle them in another Galaxy. That's our theory, but all we know is that they disappeared without a trace. Talmarch states he was there, leading his forces against them when they vanished" stated His Majesty.

"Then, we'd better send all this data to our council to see if they can unravel the truth there. They might need to get in touch with the Walkers to see if they will help in the mystery of this teleport technology" stated Talmarch.

"Why do you think these walkers might be able to help?" replied his majesty curiously

"Every First One race specialized in a certain area of technology and development. That was their speciality. Ours is dimensional gravity tech" stated Slagvort, raising his head from the console to show them he was still in the room.

"Engineering team twelve to King Antony… please respond. We might have come across something that our sensors are having a hard time reading. We think it's some form of life but it might be undead too" stated Lieutenant Commander Dobson.

"Dobson, repeat. Did you say undead? You've been watching too many horror films. I know you love those old spooky Vampire flicks" replied His Majesty.

"That's correct Sire, but a huge negative on horror films. I haven't had time to watch any since before coming to Ikara" replied Dobson.

"OK, OK, no need to get all defensive. I was only making a joke" replied Antony.

"Yeah at my expense" Dobson replied a bit grumpily.

"Sorry, Commander. I won't do it again. Congratulations, by the way, on just being promoted to Commander."

The Kirish looked at each other then back to King Antony.

"Why do some members of your race take offence to the slightest thing?" asked Slagvort.

"It's human nature, that's all. Some people don't like their private life scrutinized, especially while on duty" replied His Majesty.

"We still have much to learn about your race. It's the parts we never see that makes us proud to know you as a species. We know you will live until the end, but what you will become is beyond us to see" stated Taglart in a very respectful tone.

The Decimator's com system started to go active.

"It's time to see how good I did. Computer, realign the com signal to match our system and open the channel. Now we will see if it works" said His Majesty.

"Well, it looks like you found her, Antony my son. It's good to see you are safe. The Shadows won't be monitoring these wave bands any longer" stated Grand Lord Talmarch.

"My Lord, the ship works perfectly, and we have found that even our technology in this vessel was right. They had harvested most of their knowledge" replied Taglart.

"What do you mean?" demanded Talmarch.

"Grand Lord, it looks like they fled from our galaxy to another galaxy or even to another universe" stated His Majesty.

" I've looked at the data and can't believe what I was reading. That's impossible. Not even the Walkers can do that. Trust me; I've read their data files as well" replied Talmarch.

Once Jo-anne had finished overseeing the reconstruction of the Bio-armor facility, she was asked to head to the old Ikarian buildings with several teams to search for the data regarding the Ikarian history. She needed to know if the Kirish Lordship had told Earth the truth about this area of space and the immense danger what came from that ancient planet of death. While Jo-anne and her teams were walking to the nearest building to search for historical data, Antony decided to cheat. He decided to use his technomadge abilities and link to the technology. He began going through the files what were still readable regarding the Ikarian history. They showed they had been invaded many times in their recorded history; sometimes by the same race, but returning hundreds if not thousands of years later.

With the information Antony had gathered from his cyber merge with the bio pods, he had found out how to build all new bio-organic weapon suites; and he wanted them for the royal guard to test them first. Then, they were to be tested with the regular branches of the armed forces. During the reprogramming of the pods, the original Ikarian pod tried to attach itself to one of the security officers, only to fail. But during the night, when everyone was asleep, they were awakened by a horrified scream coming from one of the security check points.

"What in the balls of fire was that?" demanded Geoffrey O'Donnell, the duty security watch officer.

When the security patrols reached the area where the screams came from, all they found were two bodies with massive holes in their chests, where an energy weapon discharge had hit them and skewered their bodies. The bodies were still smoking from the heat from the weapon impact. The bodies were transported up to orbital command, where they would have to have an autopsy.

"General Fu Yung, this is Commander O'Donnell. We have two security personnel dead with gaping big holes in their bodies. I've sent officers to check on his majesty, but his last report indicated that he was back aboard the fourth Passatwar ship that has been discovered."

"That was no way to make a report, Commander, but I will overlook it, due to the circumstances of your predicament. Make sure you get a hold of the Kirish and inform them as well. However, due to the people on the surface, I will have more troops down soon and I'll have mechanized units at the ready" replied General Fu Yung.

"Com, please do me the misfortune and open a channel to Earth's central military command. I'll pray it's closed for the day" laughed Stark.

"Sir, it's nearly midnight back home" replied the com officer.

"Yes, I know that. That's why I was laughing. Back to your duties, everyone" stated Stark.

"This is watch officer, Commodore George Lister, dammit. Do you know what time it is back here?" Demanded Lister.

"Sorry if I awakened you, Commodore, but I'm sending you a file regarding some breaking events here on Ikara. His Majesty would like extra military guards here as soon as possible. Can do, sir?" Stark then closed the channel to Earth. "Send a copy of that to General Fu Young. Beg his forgiveness, but my job is to protect His Majesty."

There was a surreal screeching sound coming from King Antony's Gaim Body Guards. They knew what had happened and they wanted him down there to protect him with their lives.

"Security, get the Gaim ready to land. They want the pleasure of killing whatever is down there, killing people, placing his majesty in possible danger" ordered General Fu Yung.

"We are prepping their transports now, General. It will still be at least forty minutes before we can start loading them up" replied the CAG, Lieutenant Commander Young.

"I really don't care, CAG. Just get those Gaim from my ship and on the surface of Ikara before they tear my ship apart from the inside out" demanded General Fu Yung.

General Fu Yung demand more soldiers on the planet to protect His Majesty and to all at the dig site where he was working. As later checks showed, one of the pods had disappeared by someone unknown or known. There were several people missing after the attack. General Fu Yung had been on to his superiors, informing them of this incident and advised patrol groups to be sent out, but he was overturned. They were scared. They didn't want to the mysterious raiders to think they had any need for more ships in the area. They also thought it could be actual grave robbers, coming to raid the dead world.

"Ah, Taglart, I have to head up to the Bagstaff so I can contact Earth and request extra personnel to this system. Plus, I want to send ships to Zâ-ha-dum to send those Shadows a message, saying stay away or you will suffer for your arrogance" stated his Majesty.

"Do not send ships to Zâ-ha-dum, yet. Wait until you are ready for them; that way it will give them a harder lesson to recover from" advised Taglart.

General Fu Yung ordered all ships in orbit to sweep the planets with sensors all the time to keep track of all movements on the planet surface. Just after six hours from the first killing, one of the orbiting construction ships was hit by a high energy plasma blast that came from the surface of Ikara. Luckily, it hit an area of the ship that was in a vaccum, and the ship only took the energy hit as it passed the space frame in the vacuum area. The plasma strike was high enough to knock out the sensors on the construction ships. Their civilian grade sensors couldn't handle high amounts of EMP with those strikes and they were being knocked out.

"Deploy repair teams and find out what the military is doing about those plasma strikes. If we maintain shields, we can't do as much work. It will make us fall behind construction schedule" ordered Captain Steven Scott of the Earth Construction ship, Pride of Tyne.

"Sir, we have a message coming in from General Fu Yung for you" informed Lieutenant Hawk.

"Put the General on and let's see what he has to say" replied Scott.

"Steven, I'm sorry for that. We didn't know that they had such range or strength in their fire power. Work at a reduced rate, but make sure you avail yourself maximum protection. We have more ships on route to take up the slack" informed General Fu Yung.

"It will take us several hours to make the repairs and continue our set construction quota" replied Scott.

"Scott to Jenkins. Come in, Swordfish."

"Go ahead, Pride of Tyne. Can we assist you with anything?" asked Captain David Cassidy.

"Yeah, there is one thing, David. We need you to lend us some repair teams to help get us ready, just in case we get used for target practice again" asked Scott.

"We sure can help with that, Steven, and we have deployed the shield to maximum strength. We are sure hoping it holds." replied Cassidy.

"Your Majesty, please respond; King Antony, please Sire, respond" came the worried voice of General Fu Yung.

"Yes General? What's wrong, or should I say what's happened to get you in such a worried state? You sound like you're panicking that you couldn't get a hold of me. General, why do I get the feeling that you have ordered my Gaim Guards to the surface? What's all that about?" demanded his Majesty.

"Sire, they and I got worried when we heard that security personnel had been killed. They basically demanded to be allowed on the surface so they could see you and make sure you were alive and well" informed General Fu Yung.

"Well, what can I say? They take my protection very seriously. I was going to send them back to Gaim, but I'm glad I kept them on board" replied his Majesty.

The Kirish Lords were getting close to their need to replenish their bodies, so they decided to follow His Majesty up to the Bagstaff so they could rest and take in all the data they had recorded.

"I'm sorry that we have to leave the site, your Majesty, but we need our computers. We think we know what Galaxy the Passatwar fled to. We just need to confirm the co-ordinates and we might send a ship there to investigate to see what awaits us there. However, several of us wish to help you to perfect the technology because this uses the same designs as what you used to save your initial hyperspace test fleet" stated Taglart.

"If that is the case, then we might be able to break the code. Send a copy to my office when you get aboard the Bagstaff. I think I will have to go and head to Jo-anne's dig site to help there" replied his Majesty.

" I hope you get those bio pods working. I can see you will be needing them, even though your Gaim Protectors are a class above" stated Slagvort.

"If you need our help with them, we are always here for you" stated Verrol.

"Verrol my dear, you know we can't break the code fully for them. They have to learn for them selves" stated Sorgan.

"Well, I'm glad that you think that their jump tech is similar to my emergency program I had installed. It won't take long to unlock it. However it will be, to find a crew willing to test it. However I will overcome that too. I know Earth Gov won't allow me to go for fear they will lose me. That gives me an idea. In a strange way, the answer was given to us by your people" stated his Majesty.

His Majesty was in his private quarters, making the final preparations to the next phase of the search for the Passatwar. Then his mind opened him up to a threat that was growing on the surface of Ikara. He knew the threat was in part due to the shadows, but how he wasn't sure. Then he sensed danger to himself, personally.

"Bridge what's going on out there? I feel like my life is in danger. All my sensors are telling me to protect myself, so what's going on my friend?" demanded his Majesty.

"Vice Admiral Stark here, Sire. There's no visible threat, but we have increased full power to the shields and brought secondary and reserves online too. If there is a threat, it won't be for us. I've brought the defense grid on line and am charging weapons."

On the bridge of the Bagstaff the crew was hard at work, trying to find the unknown threat to his Majesty.

"Sir, we have picked up a distortion on sensors. It's reading like a hyperspace vortex opening, but there's nothing on visual" informed Commander Price.

"Sir, our sensors have nothing, but tactical is lit up like a Christmas tree in New York. Sorry for the pun. I'm homesick. The sensors have a ship and we are tracking it" stated Commander York.

"Bring the weapons online and continue tracking. Let me know if it goes near any of the dig sites. In fact, if it goes near the planet and tries to land, destroy it. Inform General Fu Yung about what is going on. This is all in his back yard" stated Vice Admiral Stark.

"We have an alert message coming in from the Texas. They're picking up ships in Hyperspace and they're not of Earth Design" informed Major Haussmann, the EAS Texas tactical officer.

"We can't take any chances. Neutron cannons to bear on that unknown ship. When we have a lock, fire all barrels. If it survives that, fire a spatial torpedo at them" ordered Stark.

"Sir, we have destroyed the target, but we think they wanted us to hit it. There is a part of the ship descending and it's under control" informed Commander Price.

"It might be an escape pod. The ships might be here to make peaceful contact, and we attacked them without provocation" informed Stark.

"It's best to start heading back to the surface. I've managed to set up all the equipment for that program and venture for that remote galaxy. The only problem is how to sell it to Earth Gov. That's my problem, Yetta, but it will come in handy. It will give Earth a fall back and increase the Human race's numbers" stated His Majesty.

"Well Antony, we can sell it if we add all of our citizens into it. That will include the Centauri, Brakiri, Sh'lassan, Ch'lon and Koulani. That way, Earth Gov might agree. If not, you can still pass it, as you have the final vote, Antony" stated Yetta.

His Majesty walked through the long dark corridor.

"CAG, Can you make sure my drop ship is ready? Also, make sure it's the one with my command and control office. Have some of my Gaim Body guards in the module. They will have a certain mission that they will excel at" informed His Majesty.

"If I may ask what will that be Sire?" replied the CAG.

"Just between you and me, it's a hunting mission. I would like them to hunt down these raiders and either capture or kill them" replied his Majesty, smirking as he spoke into his com link.

The next plasma strike came five hours after the strike on the orbital construction ship. This time, the strike was against the new secure nanite structure, surrounding the bio-organic weapon facility. The blast was deflected towards some nearby mountains that had hidden a surplus supply base what was still in full operational status. Jo-anne and her team were close by to the strike and had dove in some local caves for protection from the deflected blast. As they started to merge from the cave entrance, a small team of marines came running up, asking if everyone was all right and if there were anymore people inside the cave. Then one of the team, a young lady of around twenty-four years of age replied.

"No, the caves are now empty, but we could do with some muscle for protection." They informed their squad leader, who ordered them to stay with the archaeology team.

On one of the Marine's scanners, they detected what seemed to be a building underground, with an entrance up ahead what was cleared via the plasma strike. They started to walk down the stone steps until they entered a hallway that was lit up as soon as they stood on the metallic floor. Lights started to turn on all the way down this corridor that they decided to explore. The marines left a team of four men guarding the passage into their location, while a fifth member went back to the surface to make his report to his command base and to report their location and to maintain local orbital scans on this area and to send an entire platoon with armor, as no race hides something like this without it being of some strategic reason.

Within the hour, six mechanized units arrived; plus more marines and combat engineers. Jo-anne had set up a sat link communication relay so she could keep everyone in orbit up to date on the discoveries she was making. Also, due to the strikes on the ships in orbit and those on the surface, general Fu Yung advised the king to board one of the warships in orbit, stating that at least they could protect him from most probable strikes.

While back in this secret underground bunker/ lab, Jo-anne and her team came across another type of bio pod. This was of a different design all together. It was larger than the ones used for the bio-organic armor suites. Antony, on hearing of the great find, advised that one be brought to him for him to examine and another sent to Doctor Heinz Goodman and Elizabeth Rockman. Among those three people, they found out nearly all there was to know regarding nanites and bio-organic technology. When the device was brought to HRH Antony, he knew what it was right away just by touching it, but to make sure, he ran all the tests that he needed to do to test his assumptions.

Antony was very curious to find out how many more of these objects were in that hidden lab. Every plasma blast was heading it in a direction of that base or laboratory as if it knew it was there. With the data Antony took from the remaining bio pods, there was no mention of this site. Antony wanted to launch some heavily modified construction nanite probes to that location as fast as he could, and within the hour, a new modified probe was launched.

"This is his Royal Majesty to Jo-anne Crosby and Major Steal. I've just launched a modified nanite construction probe to your location in case that thief and murderer is heading for you. It will give you some extra protection against that weapon. I hope there are military grade nanites in this probe so the new building will have polycrystaline nanite armor like every other single warship we have."

His Majesty stayed at his computer, overlooking all the data that had been uncovered.

"Computer run this data file through all known languages and link to my private data files."

"Stand by. That will take several moments" replied the computer. "Your majesty, a file has been discovered. I'm now running a full translation of the files you asked me to translate" stated the computer.

"Good, computer, and when you're finished with that, I will need to speak to Marshal Von-der-tan as well, but place a hold on that for now" ordered Antony.

"The translation is complete and ready to run data files" stated the computer.

"Play the file please" stated Antony.

A screen came on with a figure standing in front of him, dressed in all black.

"My name is Shandrak. My rank is Vendorleam of the first fleet. I'm making this recording because the ancient black ships of death have returned to our Allies of Ikara. There are some on Ikara that see us as invaders, because we bring our ships of war to their world to help protect them. This world, in the past few years, has fallen into the Dark Ones' interest. The people of my government think that the Ikarians or some of them may turn on us. If they do, it will be their cellist government agencies. We have had more of our mind walkers killed in the last few days; my Seconds want to flee this world. I wanted to send a delegation to the Watchers who live at Epsilon Eridani. I've been over ruled by my superiors. The last time I was there, they told my people we were at a point of extinction" Shandrak swung round to look over his shoulder. There stood an Ikarian.

The Ikarian just looked at Shandrak and then screamed "Die, you invader! You have brought doom to our world!"

Shandrak dove to his side and raised his hand and levitated the Ikarian.

"Why do you think we brought doom to your people? We are your protectors. We came as soon as you summoned us. If you are now working for those on the ships of doom, then it is you who will die. Yes, we might die eventually, and you will no doubt change your history books to claim us as invaders. We have done nothing to you, but now you will die for attacking me, Frezzal! Yes, I know you and your family" stated Shandrak as the recording came a close and faded out.

The screen came on again giving a date and again with Shandrak.

"I have to report that the Ikarians have fallen to the ways of the Dark Ones. My troops are trying hard to keep themselves away from those areas that remain that are still controlled by our few remaining allies. We have been cut off from our ships, so we can't defend Ikara anymore. However, I've programmed my full fleet to maximum defense protocol. They will still defend themselves and this base from the Dark Ones. I've asked for help from the guardians. I'm just hoping the guardians will make it here in time. There are reports coming from remote areas of Ikara that an unknown plague broke out. It's killing our people. We have seen the reports and we can't cure it yet" reported Shandrak.

Shandrak faded away and was replaced by another Passatwar officer.

"Shandrak, I'm leaving this last recording. Soon the Dark Ones will swarm the last few levels of my defense compound. We have finally heard back from the guardians and I've added their reply to you in this file. I wish you all the greatness of our hearts. The moment has passed for fame and now approaches the last moments of my life. This is Cammshar Relacktom, and I will look for you in the fields of laughter with all our ancestors" With that the image switched to another message.

There stood a Guardian in a tall encounter suit similar to that worn by the Vorlons, but of a different type.

"We have received your distress call and we must remind you that you walked close to the Dark Ones' home; a place we can not go. However to stray is to gain hope, and as long as the axe man has strength, there is always hope. Look to the stars for atonement, for there your message will live on forever. Your people's journey is just about to enter its final phase. Make ready and stand tall. You will find peace at the end of the tunnel" The message faded out once more.

Then the last few moments of Cammshar Relacktom's life was shown, which stood before his Majesty's eyes. A dark spider-like creature walked into the room, facing Cammshar Relacktom's back. As Relacktom spun around to meet his slayer's eyes, he screamed in shock, fear or panic; it was hard to determine which. Then, the spider-like creature spat white energy from its sharp mandibles and hit Relacktom several times, disintegrating everything.

Then yet another holographic display appeared.

"This is the unknown disease that has beaten our best medical minds. However we have seen there is a nanite reading from it and there's a Dark One present too" stated Shandrak. The computer chirped up, showing a reading from the latest scans and tests from the medical test.

"Vendorleam, we have made a breakthrough. We have broken the base code and it is of Dark One origin. Now we know what started it and how it spreads. We are hoping we can contain it, but we do fear it will still kill our race. The base code, if it's repaired, will make a person who is infected sterile" ended the flip up message.

Shandrak walked over to a display console and started to check the findings, just as a massive explosion rocked the room he was in.

"Computer, report now" demanded the Vendorleam.

"Vendorleam, a Dark One ship tried to engage the location of rebel Ikarian forces. However, the Decimator destroyed it and launched its drone fighters to maintain patrol" reported the computer and again the screen faded out. It returned a few seconds later.

"Computer, have the Decimator start replicating replacement drones, and once finished, launch them. Keep replacing them until we have won the day" ordered Shandrak.

"Doctor Jones, we have some good news. I've been going over some data files. One of them showed an ability we didn't know about before. It's a drone replication ability, and these drones sound like some king of fighter or some other form of small attack craft" informed His Majesty.

"Sounds like some sort of technology we might need for the future. It would be great if it still works." replied Doctor Jones, smirking like a little kid.

Doctor Jones ran straight to the nearest computer console, wanting to find this replication technology. He came across the drone craft design, but the file for the replication technology was classified and could not be accessed.

"People, we have a file that needs to be cracked. I want all computer specialists on this project. We have some specialist technology that is really beyond anything the Kirish have shown us. Computer, open a channel to the Kirish team. If they don't respond, send them a full copy of the file to them to see if they can help with the encryption program" requested Doctor Jones.

Four hours and thirty minutes from the last strike came an even heavier one, hitting one of the orbital warships. It hit the ship's gravitic shield, but caused zero damage to the ship. General Fu Yung was having the planetary tracking sensors tuned to scan for that energy signature. The engineering teams kept telling him it would take some time to recalibrate the sensors and to test them, as the person or persons may have some accomplices helping them.

"General Fu Yung, sir, we have an Admiral Von Koyster on gold channel for you."

"Commander Dickson, please put the Admiral on screen now. Admiral, it's good to see you again. How are things on the Centauri front? Have they made any aggressive moves against us yet?"

"No, General. They're playing nicely in their garden. There's been nothing coming into my playing field as of yet. General, what's this I hear of a bio-organic weapon find, that it had been stolen and then threats made to our ships?

"Don't worry, General. I'm just doing what comes natural to me; protecting his Majesty. He sometimes fails to inform me about things like that. Marshall Rommel and I had a nice chat about it, so jokes aside, Marshall Rommel has sent two extra guard fleets to patrol that area and will be sending Royal engineers to help. He's advised us to start building repair yards and hospital complexes as it's going to get worse before it gets better. So congrats on everything there. You're doing a great job, my friend" stated Admiral Von Koyster.

"Understood, Admiral. I've already got the repair yards built and the hospital complex is all but finished. His Majesty is fully protected all the time; even though he insists that he can deal with things himself. Over dinner the other day, I told him in passing that I was rather a good sword fighter. He challenged me to a fencing match and, believe me, I was throwing everything at him and still he beat me. He told me not to worry. Fencing had been hobby of his all his life as well as target practice with any hand gun we have. He's got no equal, Admiral."

"You don't have to tell me about that. What do you think of his own hand made PPG? It's got a narrower barrel than anything we use in Earth Force, and it has a kick like a starship cannon. I know he's safe. I was more worried about you, General. You're there to protect him from harm. However, before I get further off topic, I was going to get in touch regarding the Shadow project. We have confirmed that all the automated probes we sent into the location of the home world of these Shadows have all been destroyed. We have used the data to map out the locations of the destroyed probes so those areas will now be a no fly zone from this point on, to prevent any unknown mistakes or disasters that might bring down the Human race. I'm ordering the construction of thirty new defense stations on top of the others we have already placed there. The newer ones will be further out from the first lot and be classed as a reserve line. So Admiral, may I ask why you have informed me about this or is the Ikarian system being used as the staging ground and support platform?"

"Your guess is just spot on, so I'll leave all that to you my friend. The ships will be setting out in a few days and thanks for the catch up."

Then the ship was rocked with a massive explosion and EMP discharge and the lights and screen flickered. Admiral Von Koyster was just about to close his channel and demanded to know what had hit the ship. General Fu Yung looked with shock at the screen and before he replied, Commander Jefferson answered the admiral.

"Sirs, it was the latest strike from what we have now confirmed to be the bio-organic weapon on the armor suite. At the rate the strength of the weapon is gaining, recharge time has fallen to three hours down from four and a half hours."

Von Koyster asked the com officer to put this ship wide.

"This is Admiral Von Koyster. I want that weapon captured or destroyed. It must be incapacitated at all costs. Launch all fighter and bombers and find that infiltrator now. Koyster out."

With great thanks to my Beta Reader Susan Hilton without her hard work the beta edition wouldn't be around.

HOPE YOU LIKED THE FIRST PART OF CHAPTER THREE.

FEEL FREE TO PRIVATE MESSAGE ME WITH YOUR CONCERNS, DISLIKES AND LIKES

THANKS FOR READING. PART TWO WILL BE READY SOON.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER THREE, THE IKARIAN THEFT, PART TWO

Fleet wide alerts started to sound on every ship that carried atmospheric auxiliary craft. The weaker, older civilian ships started their engines up to move into a higher orbit. Com chatter started up, mainly with the civilian ship captains, screaming at the military, demanding better security than what they were getting.

"Computer, please run the final data file for me and make a report for me to read regarding that attack, for when I have finished watching this file" ordered His Majesty, as he made himself comfortable in his chair. "Computer, one final thing: inform the bridge I'm OK and I still don't wish to be disturbed. Start the recording."

"Computer, what's the status of His Majesty?" asked General Fu Young. Fu Young knew that the king had suffered a blow to the head.

"His Majesty's status is the same. At the last update moments ago, he still wishes to remain undisturbed and voice analysis shows he is no pain or discomfort" the computer replied.

The crew of the Kingfisher was recovering when General Fu Young remembered Von Koyster was still on the video channel.

"Ah, General, I'm glad to see you're OK and that you're back on your feet. It looks like the earlier report sent to Earth Command was a bit light on data. I will tell you now that there are more ships on the way and that His Majesty's personal guard wishes to visit Ikara for the summer entertainment" chuckled Von Koyster.

"Entertainment? What entertainment are you talking about, sir?" replied Fu Young.

"The sport hunting type, sir. They shot at us we shot back and killed them. That's their entertainment. However, I requested they stand down for now, as there are a lot of civilians on Ikara and we don't want them getting hurt or killed by friendly fire" replied Von Koyster.

Within minutes, all the fighters and bombers were launching from the Kingfisher's bays.

"Commander, please relay those orders to the task force. Prep all shuttles and transports. I want all of the fleets and Marines planet side within the next five hours. That includes all vehicles and equipment they have. Make sure we have UAV's out hunting them down and transfer all power to sensors and weapons and make sure we maintain a strong gravitic shield everyone" ordered General Fu Young.

"Sir, we have His Majesty on the channel for you, requesting permission to take his transport to the surface as he believes he's at more risk here and he may be needed planet side." reported the Com officer.

"Then, Commander, you'd better inform the flight deck. His Royal pain in my butt wants his ship prepped, so prep it. Have a tag fitted to it, just in case. I want to be able to track his ship no matter where he takes it and what he uses it for" instructed the General.

Meanwhile, in His Majesties chambers, stood the holographic image of Shandrak the Vendorleam, which he now knew meant Chosen Leader.

"Today we have had word from the Vorlon General that a guardian is on its way, and they have informed us that Ikara is now a dead world. The plague that almost killed us has failed, but has regrettably wiped the Ikarians out. The Lead Vorlon Ulkesh Damlat (that meant General in Human terms) had lent his tactical training to help clear the world of Ikara from the hands of the Dark ones" stated Shandrak.

Ulkesh moved up to Shandrak.

"Now your circle nears completion. Time to move and start another" stated Ulkesh. Shandrak look at the Vorlon, and then replied.

"What do you mean by that? What circle? I don't understand you, Ulkesh" stated Shandrak.

"You're not ready. There are too few of you, but soon you must start your new circle" stated Ulkesh and headed in another direction. Two otherFirst Ones headed to him.

"Those blooming Vorlons think they know everything, but they don't. If they did, they would have ended this a long time ago. It is true that your path is set and you must soon take your people on it. What lies on your path we can't see, but it will either end in light or darkness. That's the only constant in the universe" stated Sorgan, the same Sorgan who was now walking around on the planet's surface.

In came the Guardian, heading to Shandrak.

"We have been summoned, but we have failed our children… We have such pain and sorrow" stated the Guardian unhappily.

"You have not failed us, Great one. Your inability to act may have cost the Ikarians their lives. You failed them" stated Shandrak diplomatically.

"The Ikarians will still have a part to play, for not all the children of Ikara fell. They are the nexus that all life now must bend to dream to survive this storm. Some of their most worthy were saved. We would not be a worthy guardian if we let their whole race die" replied the Guardian, who had still refused to name himself. It looked straight at Ulkesh "The storm is approaching. It is on the horizon. It's getting closer and soon we need to be ready for all out comes and that includes possible extinction. Our time is passing fast. Our days are coming to a close. We all must choose to stay or leave and let the events balance out"

"Then it's time to seek out Lorian to see what he thinks" stated Kosh Naranek, as he entered the room, floating to Ulkesh.

"Yes…Lorian knows the storm is close. We have few moments left and it's time to use what we have for what is right" replied The Guardian.

Ulkesh was starting to get impatient with the answers that the guardian was giving.

"Now is the time we must deal with the Kirish! The main error of their ways was attacking all of us" stated Ulkesh in a very angry and demanding tone.

"We have not been truly attacked. The Kirish seek wisdom more than power, like The Dark Ones" replied Kosh

"Agreed… the Kirish are not a problem. They are just misunderstood. They are the Nexus of the first Ones. Without them, we would certainly die at the hands of the Dark Ones" replied the Guardian.

Both of the Vorlons gazed at the Guardian curiously. Then, several other Passatwar tromped into the chamber, covered in dust and dirt, and laughing at something what had just taken place outside. The video recording started to crackle and became unstable and faded out and ended.

"That is all that was in the final file, your Majesty. There is nothing else that can be recovered" intoned the computer.

"Thank you, computer. That is fine. Was there anything happening in the back ground that might be important?" asked His Majesty.

"Negative, Sire. That is all that could be gathered from the recording, but further efforts to retain more from the recording will be attempted."

Back at the Passatwar dig location, now almost fully excavated, the Kirish were happy helping Earth to discover the bounty of treasures in those half-buried ships. Sorgan looked up and sighed.

"He knows and soon he will be back. Now all his questions must be made ready for him if he asks any,as Talmarch has told him more than he has told us and what we already knew" replied Taglart.

"Well Talmarch has his reason and Earth will help us to set many of them to right again" stated Slagvort.

"Don't be worried. Humans know the truth about us and our goals, and His Majesty has given us his full support and it's never wavered" replied Taglart.

"Taglart, the information we are searching for wasn't on the data files. I've used the codes Talmarch gave me before we came here. They helped, but I still had to use some of my own techniques. They show the Vorlons had some distrust of your people. However, there is mention of Lorian and a race called the Guardians, whom I have no information on" informed His Majesty.

"Thank you, King Antony, for telling us what your mission was and why you had to come. Lorian is, well, another story for a better day. The Guardians are the Guardians of life, who left a long time ago. Only some stayed to watch. We don't know much about them. Lorian was the oldest of the First Ones. He was classed as the First Born. The Guardians were not born first, but they were there from before time and they educated Lorian" stated Taglart.

The Kirish looked at each other, wondering how this Human could do something that their own deciphering programs failed to do.

"Remember who and what he is. He has been educated by us all his life. He was also educated by the Centauri techno-mage, Count Mollari, so he will have ideas that we have failed to think of. It's only logical that he would hold the key" stated Taglart.

"Your Majesty, I hope you will be returning to Ikara sooner rather than later. We think it's going to become a heavy storm for your ships if we can't stop them down here" admonished Slagvort.

"Don't worry so much. I will be with you soon, so stop fretting, my friends. I will be on my transport within minutes" informed His Majesty.

After that reply the Kirish closed their channel to King Antony.

"CAG, get my transport ready, and I want a flyby escort for me just in case. I would hate to end up becoming target practice for some raiders who may get lucky" ordered Antony. He closed his link down while he made sure he had everything he would need; and things that he might need, like a micro high- energy PPG pistol.

"Sir, we have a target lock on that area. We could fire a warning barrage at them, but we have some drone units some 15 clicks from target. The units are the ones trying out the Ikarian remote control pod system."

" Well then, gunners, make sure you don't hit them, but hit those what hit us" said General Fu Yung

Admiral Von Koyster started to laugh at him. "Please general, tell me you have been targeting the areas, even if it means carpet shelling them."

"Stephan, you worry too much. Don't stress, my friend. I've got a heavy tank team in the area and they are moving in at top speed" informed General Fu Young.

" I've ordered Stark to launch his Lancets towards the surface for actual field testing. They are the new atmospheric ground support gunship transport. All fifteen of the prototypes were sent to Ikara for testing and they were requested by His Majesty before he left Earth" said Von Koyster.

"So what you're saying is that he was coming prepared for any and all outcomes, good or bad?"questioned the general.

"Yep, It's sure starting to look like it isn't it?" replied Von Koyster.

The orbital bombardment stopped and six Cleopatra heavy tanks stopped and began probing the area with every type of sensor system they had on board. They then picked up some targets at extreme range, heading in their direction. The Cleo's Gravimetric shield went to full power just as the tank was hit by a high discharge plasma blast. The Cleo battle tanks all replied with their EMP cannons. That stopped any other weapon reply from the enemy targets. The was the effect of the EMP and a massive dust storm coming. Orbital sensors estimated that it would last at least four days. The Cleos were forced to withdraw to safer locations, just to prevent the enemy from capturing this technology.

"This is tank Commander Clive Johnson to Lancet air support: has the enemy gone to ground or have they been neutralized?" requested Johnson.

" Lancet Leader to Commander Johnson: we have zero visibility, due to high winds. We have switched to thermal. However, due to high heat discharge from your last strike, it has made it impossible to locate. Sorry." replied Commander Sarah Sinclair.

"Thanks lancet leader. I'll order my tanks forward and run with full power to the interceptors just in case" replied Johnson. " Johnson to unit: we are advancing now. Run all interceptors to full and keep the gravitic shield up and running too. Wild Boar out."

The Wild Boar unit moved forward in a standard defensive formation, when, suddenly, in front of them appeared a Gaim officer who forced the tanks to halt. The Gaim officer tried to speak to them in their own language but it came across like screeching over all the intercom speakers.

"Earth tanks halt. I'm Shreelak,the Gaim officer leading the seventh Guard Unit. We advise your people in your tanks to follow us. Now we see like we did back home; home we see better in this type of environment. Track them. They are moving away from us now, but there could be one or two heading this way. It is hard to see from such distance."

"This is Commander Johnson to Shreelak. We have taken your advice under consideration and we will follow you in at your own speed. We have our sensors running at full power and can't make anything out now."

"Earth human Johnson, your senses are'nt genetically designed for environments like this. Our advanced scouts are. As we talk, they are traveling underground, hunting their meals" said Shreelak.

"When you say meals, should I ask about that or would it give me nightmares for years to come?" asked Johnson.

"It depends on what you like to eat. We like our food fresh. They attacked the one we are charged to protect, so now they are now dinner. There is nothing better than live food to hunt for again" replied Shreelak.

Commander Johnson looked over the terrain ahead. Lieutenant Commander Lynne Granger, the second in command of the 16th unit, wasn't impressed with what she had seen.

"Clive, this is Lynne. I think we need to call in our support recon team. We need the Scorpions' speed and its plasma mortar cannon. With that, we can advance and clear out every cave or hiding area that the Gaim don't find."

"That's a negative, Lynne. We can advance with the aid of the Gaim. They won't miss them, just trust me. They're their food and they can smell them. We can advance without delay" ordered Johnson.

Both sets of forces started to advance in the direction of the last known location of the thieves.

"Earth Human Johnson, my scouts tell me that there are at least two of them heading in this direction. The others are heading away from us. I advised my scouts to take their fill from those two that are advancing on us first, and if they fail, I will send more after them" said Shreelak.

"Confirmed, Shreelak. I hope they fill them up, as we can't slow down for them" replied Johnson.

"They will not fill them up; just make them want them more. They make us hunt harder to stop us from taking their food" replied Shreelak.

Two Ikarian soldiers were heading in their direction with a fully charged Bio suit. The sensors on the suits didn't pick up the Gaim scouts moving on them from under the sand dunes. The dunes under their feet started to give way and within seconds, both Ikarian soldiers were killed without even getting a chance to fight for their lives or fire their weapons off to defend themselves. They didn't even have a chance to scream. The last thing they saw was the giant claws of the Gaim Soldiers.

The other units of the Ikarian party were now fully aware of this threat from beneath the ground and were no taking measures to counter them. They heard their screams with their telepathy as the creatures tore them apart and started to devour them. It wasn't until their advanced team were finally killed when they stopped hearing the mind screams, themselves in pain. They never talked, but all of them turned in the direction of the attack and fired their heavy plasma cannons at them.

The advanced Gaim scouts had already started to turn to the depths they came from.

"Commander Johnson to all units: we are tracking incoming weapons fire. Our sensors have them heading for the location of the Gaim scouts. All tanks, link weapons to orbital command and target weapons to that area and fire at maximum strength and move forward at best speed" ordered Johnson.

Meanwhile in orbit, the starship Kingfisher was bringing itself into a better location to bring as many of her heavy weapons to bear on the plasma discharges.

"I want those weapons firing in five seconds. If we aren't in perfect alignment, we fire with what we have. It's that simple" ordered General Fu Young.

"Sir, we can fire now" reported the weapons officer. General Fu Young started to grin like a Cheshire cat.

"Fire all weapons that can hit them. Keep it up with all available weapons!" yelled General Fu Young. The Kingfisher started to swing to port to ready itself for their second planetary barrage.

"Sir, second barrage ready" stated the weapons officer.

"You heard the man! Fire that second barrage! Bring me the report from the first assault" ordered the General.

"Human Johnson, the advancing enemy are good eating. Would your people like some of our food? We don't offer this honor often" said Shreelak in a inviting way.

"Thanks but no thanks, Shreelak. We have plenty of stores on board to last us months." replied Johnson, beginning to look a little green around the gills..

"Sixth Mechanized unit, this is Kingfisher control. Halt your advance. We have sent them a reply as well with two strikes: a primary and a second strike. So, keep your heads down and advise your Gaim friends to be careful" admonished the weapons officer of the Kingfisher.

"Johnson to all units: we have orbital weapons' fire incoming on the thieves from orbit, so let's hope they get them. On second thought, I hope they only slow them down and don't spoil the food for the Gaim members."

Aboard the Throne Ship that was still in orbit of Centauri Prime, they were leading the program in rebuilding their orbital structures.

"Com, get me the Kingfisher. I want an up date as soon as we are there. It is our job to protect His Majesty" reminded Von Koyster.

"Sir, we can't get a stable signal, due to a heavy storm at the edge of the system. However, we have gotten through. We're bouncing the signal around the storm for now" replied the com officer.

"Greetings, General. I just want to catch up on things live. So what are the issues?" asked Von Koyster.

"Admiral, I'm sorry, but this really isn't the best time. We are tracking the latest plasma attack. The thieves have been located and we have a joint mechanized and Gaim force moving in on them. However, to give you nightmares, here's one. Two Gaim advanced scouts engaged, killed, and ate two Ikarian bio soldiers. That's why they returned fire, so it looks like the suits are linked to each other as His Majesty guessed" stated General Fu Young.

"Then General, you'd better send me a full report now" demanded Von Koyster. He looked at the screen in deep thought. "Have you ordered all craft and soldiers deployed?"

"Yes Admiral, we have done all that. However, we have yet another storm moving in. All forces are moving in on the enemy in all directions." Replied General Fu Young. They looked at each other for a few seconds without saying anything.

"Admiral, I know you feel protective of His Majesty, but it's my job at the moment and I know it's very hard for you. Trust me, sir, he's in very safe hands. I've got an entire army division assigned to the area His Majesty is in" assured General Fu Young.

"OK, OK, I can see I've lost this one , but thank you my friend for putting me straight" replied Von Koyster.

"Yes, we've got the lucky weapon strikes in. We just won't get reliable data on the losses we dealt them in that attack" said the General proudly with a huge grin on his face again.

"Well then, General Fu Yung, you'd better deploy all your craft that won't be able land as well, before the storm will hit their landing zones" advised Von Koyster.

"Good idea, Admiral. We have already ordered them to land on the outskirts of the storm front. Plus, when it's safe to do so, we will have them ready to redeploy them closer to those enemy soldiers when the storms have passed them by" replied General Fu Young with a joking tone. Within five hours of the orders being given, every last marine was on the planet and in those five hours his Royal Highness had managed to bring on line the soldier pod manufacturing process. With the help of Jo-anne, they had managed to gain access to the bio-armor base programming system that allowed them to re-write their entire software. The standard system primary codes were to serve the royal family and all of His Majesty's heirs.

Von Koyster opened a channel to brigadier Lightbridge Stewart, the marine commander for this system.

"Lightbridge, I need some special hardened troops to volunteer for a new special ops program that involves the Bio pods we discovered here. They will be fitted with a stronger armor matrix than the original design and the weapon system has also gone through improvements. Instead of firing high discharges of plasma energy that might have a chance of crippling a starship in orbit, it would change to a high density matter anti matter pulse cannon. Let's set our goal to find three hundred for now, but if you find more, that will be great too."

Brigadier Stewart sent messages to every marine ship in the system, asking and in some cases calling in I.O.U's to find volunteers to try out the new modified bio-armor and weapon package. After just a short period of time he had signed up 10,000 in the first batch, taking up all the bio pods that had been altered and modified by His Majesty personally.

The other scientists didn't know how he managed to add the basics of the new formula so quickly. It was like His Majesty was one with that piece of technology. His Majesty added the base Vorlon ability to learn and adapt, the shadow ability to heal and cloak itself, Kirish lordship modified Polycrystallinenanite armor and technomadge modified organic nanites for defense and shielding abilities, making these new bio-organic armor weapon systems superior to the original Ikarian variants.

With the production facility back up and running at maximum efficiency, they had both the long range auto control pods and the bio pods. Now with the facility running at full production, they could have something like ten thousand pods of both designs within the week. The first batch of six hundred was fully reprogramed for the soldiers while there were only two hundred and fifty for long range auto control. Also, there were at least five thousand awaiting reprograming. Jo-anne was amazed that she was getting the grants and being asked to hand pick extra personal for this mission, even though the mass nanite terraforming program was well underway.

"Doctor Crosby, we can produce around another two thousand bio suite pods a week now, and a further eight thousand long range control pods every month. These production stats will increase in time, Doctor" reported Mark Bush, the production facility lead engineer.

"Sir, a UAV has picked up the Ikarian group. There are thirteen of them and they're turning" informed Captain Strong-arm.

"Over ride that UAV and start evasive maneuvers. Transmit their location to all forces and transmit all the files and data to us now" ordered Brigadier Stewart.

"Sir, the UAV has evaded at least six blasts, but the others must have a better guide now. There is an energydrain on the UAV at twenty percent…no, make that forty percent…now eighty percent! Oh, crap! Now it's total shield failure, sir! The armor might take a single shot and then it's history" reported Captain Strong-arm.

"Helm, turn our craft into the enemy and fire!" The helmsman complied swiftly. " Well done helm. That will reduce damage to us." With both the next strikes they hit at the same time and vaporized the UAV. All that was left on the screen was static. "Make sure we have every unit moved into that area. I want them trapped."

"General Fu Young to Brigadier Stewart; will you respond… over"

"Stewart here. Go ahead, General."

"Stewart, I want as many troops as you can muster to land within a three kilometer zone of that attack area. My troops will land just past your landing zone, covering your advance. There is only one problem: those blast waves came from an area where some of our troops are deployed. There are the Sixteenth tank unit and the Seventh Gaim Guard units. They are heading for those gizmos or whatever you want to call them. The only thing I know is they will be dead and will probably turn into Gaim snacks unless we get to them first, Stewart so get your finger out of your butt crack and stop eyeing the hot female officers in your command" ordered General Fu Young.

Before they could get the troops fully into position, another dust storm hit them. It was due to the terraforming process that was being used. It wreaked havoc to the planets only during its early phases. This, in a way, helped the Earth forces to get ready to launch immediately, and they had Specialist UVA's designed for use during the dust storms of terraforming. They were in the air and watching the Ikarian Bio soldiers. They tried to march in the storm, but only managed to get three hundred meters away from their first contact location in seven hours.

"General I just saw you managed to deploy the entire 209th Marine Division, 711th Marine Division and the 801st Mechanized Division. They won't be enough to keep those infiltrators pinned down" reported Stewart

"That's better than I was hoping for, Stewart. My first thoughts were a little crude, especially when you managed what you did. Plus, I'm so jealous that I only managed to get my divisions in the air, and if they land now, they won't be in range for many days. Well done, and only His Majesty beat you. He has twenty divisions on the surface now and he wants them captured alive" informed the General.

At the same moment at the bio facility, His Majesty was walking around, waiting for the soldiers who volunteered for the bio test program.

"Welcome everyone, even if only six hundred of you present will be grafted to a bio pod" said His Majesty. Looking around the room and smiling, he started to pick the six hundred soldiers. "Those I've just picked out are those who will become a part of my Ultra Elite Guard, or as I call them, my UEG. If we had more than six hundred pods, I would be bringing them online as fast as I could. This facility is going to be targeted soon. What was stolen has now taken over their bodies and minds and are bring them back for more pods. There are only thirteen left and they are fully set up, but if you think I would send you out against a superior enemy, then you are wrong" stated His Majesty.

There was a signal beep at a console close to his Majesty. He went over and had a look at what had beeped.

"Well, that's some great news. Taglart has informed me that the Decimator has finished producing our drone Lancet ground attack craft. They will take to the skies now and start their search mission. Their data will be transferred to all units, and that will include the Gaim units" stated His Majesty.

Captain Reynolds stood.

"Can the six hundred lucky soldiers please follow the sergeants? Good luck to you all" ordered Reynolds.

The first six hundred of the mighty ten thousand hopefuls were taken away to another room, where they were given their pods. The pods opened up right away. Unknown to everyone, including the doctors and nurses, the pods were redesigned to be at full strength within five hours of being placed in a human host. If it were any other life form, it would kill straight away.

It was during the first stages of bio joining that Jo-anne Crosby sent a message to His majesty to meet up at a certain location. Antony, on reading the message, wished everyone his best and said he was needed elsewhere and he would be back very soon.

Antony walked into a recently discovered cave that had three hundred damaged cryo chambers in them. All the occupied ones contained what looked like the remains of Passatwar soldiers. The shock was still to come for everyone.

"Now Antony, can you see why I needed you here?" asked Jo-anne in a very excited way.

" I can tell you now, just by looking at these bodies, that they are Passatwar soldiers" said Antony and then sprinted to Jo-anne, just in time to stop her from opening a chamber. "DON'T OPEN THOSE CHAMBERS!" screamed His Majesty.

Jo-anne looked at Antony with a puzzled look on her face.

"I'm sorry for yelling, Jo-anne but they may have a deadly disease in their bodies and we have to follow biohazard protocol. Please be careful. I would hate to lose you. However we can remove a sample of their DNA for safety testing and a genetic test of you like" said Antony in a very apologetic way.

"I'm sorry I forgot about your reports and warnings regarding the discovery of alien bodies. It won't happen again, Your Majesty" replied Jo-anne in a very apologetic way.

"You don't have to say you're sorry for the things that haven't happened; just for those that have" replied His Majesty while looking amused.

Antony walked over to a cryo chamber that had a cracked screen on it. He then conjured a small biting demon that crawled into the damaged chamber and bit into the corpse, while at the same time sending the results back to him. "These bodies are safe from the disease, as they were given an antidote for it."

"That's totally impossible! They can't have that DNA strand in their makeup!" said His Majesty in a very confused and very frustrated tone.

"What's impossible Sire?" asked Jo-anne.

"Jo-anne if I tell you, you won't believe me, but here goes nothing. They have the combined genetic DNA of five species. They have Human, Narn, Centauri and two other races that I will need help in confirming" said His Majesty in astonishment. Jo-anne looked back at Antony with the same stunned look on her face, trying to shake off the information she had just been given.

Both Jo-anne and Antony both pressed their com links at the same time. Jo-anne went to the local field hospital while Antony spoke to orbital command.

"No, Doctor Wiseman. I need a medical team at my location now who has a background in genetics and who has training on the other species in our Galaxy!" demanded Jo-anne.

" Doctor Crosby, we can't drop everything for you just because you're the senior archaeologist. That doesn't mean squat until I get it from higher up" replied Wiseman, closing the link at the same time.

"Stark, get me anyone from the Centauri medical program. We need someone with some experience of other races' DNA. We have a puzzle that we must crack fast. One more thing: Get Doctor Wiseman sent to me under military arrest. If he says anything, tell him he better do what Doctor Crosby says from now on. She is still number two on Ikara second only to me" demanded His Majesty.

"Understood, Sire. It will be done. I will send Admiral Von Koyster your request and see what he can sort for you from Centauri Prime. I will dispatch a security team to have Doctor Wiseman brought to you at once" replied Vice Admiral Stark.

"Sire, now that I've set that in motion, can you please tell me what has caused this? Do I need to send biohazard personnel to your location?" asked Stark. He looked at his bridge crew and stopped when he caught the attention of his com officer. He looked at her and gave a signal to her to mute the channel to His Majesty. Then he pressed his personal link. "Medical Bio teams, make yourselves ready. You're taking a trip to the surface as soon as possible." Then he closed the channel and told the com officer to cancel the mute order.

"Sire, I'm sorry but my biohazard teams are heading planet side."

" I know you don't need them, but you're getting them" stated Stark. Before His Majesty had a chance to protest, he ordered the channel closed. "People, brace yourselves for the wrath of His Majesty. I take full responsibility for this."

General Fu Young and Brigadier Stewart were aboard the Kingfisher, trying to sort out what their next moves were going to be.

"Well it looks like His Royal Pain and that Ms Crosby have gone and gotten them selves deeper into hot water. They found some form of Cryo chamber vault" explained Stewart.

"Will you stop drifting from matters at hand? We have to find away to sort this disaster out. We need to find those infiltrators now!" ordered General Fu Young.

"Well sir, the Sixteenth tank unit and the Seventh Gaim Guard have been following them through the storm and they have in fact closed the distance on them. Once the storm has passed fully, we will have them cornered in no time" insisted Stewart.

"Then, if you are that confident, how about a wager? Say a full weeks wage and the best drink in the ship's store" replied The General.

"You have a bet, General and no cheating" replied Stewart.

Once the storm had passed, both General Fu Yung and Brigadier Stewart both requested the time of the next dust storm. They got the auto reply from the weather satellites command relay system, stating there would be no dust storms in the area for at least the next ten weeks. With this information, Brigadier Stewart set in motion a trap to try and engage only a small group of the Ikarian bio soldiers at a time. He went to see his majesty with the plans for the traps and the resources he thought he might needed. King Antony listened and nodded through it all and asked Lightbridge if it would not be a more simpler task to send in automated units and bio soldiers to fish them out and then engage. After all, they did have several weeks before the next dust storm was due to hit this region again.

"If It's all right, Lightbridge, I have to get in touch with Earth for my weekly update. Oh Jo-anne, how's the production facility working now? I hope it can keep up the pace. Also, Jo-anne, great work on the bio-organic subsystem programming. If I've read it right, it reads like you've set in motion an experimental project for some kind of bio-organic vehicle."

"Yes, your Majesty. I was just about to come and see you and tell you about it, but you think I've programmed it right. That's very high praise from you and I am honored."

His Majesty smiled. "Please don't tell the military just yet. They will want weapons of war and we need some serious time to study these bio-organic systems." He turned to Stewart. "Stewart, you never heard any of that little chat I just had with Jo-anne. Jo-anne, my birthday is coming up and as well as my honors list. Don't forget that, both of you, and good luck. Now I have to speak with my prime minister and my president. Do you not think that they have the easiest job going? I love nothing more than getting my hands dirty. I'd better go." He walked into a private office to transmit to Earth. Jo-anne looked at Brigadier Stewart as he spoke. " I knew there was something I came to ask. How many bio soldier pods are ready for deployment and how many remote distance controller pods are ready?"

Jo-anne walked over to the inventory store computer and checked.

"We now have enough for nine hundred more soldiers on top of those deployed already and a further thirteen hundred remote distance controllers. So Brigadier, do you think they will help you capture these Ikarian variants?"

"Yes, Ms Crosby, I do and I'd better start getting these soldiers in and the vehicles brought closer so we can upgrade them."

Just minutes after all the men were equipped with the bio-soldier pods, Brigadier Stewart addressed them all and wished them luck in finding these Ikarian bio soldiers.

"They will all board skimmers and be taken to the closest position to them as humanly possible. God save the king and long life to him."

Jo-anne walked up to Captain Reynolds. "Captain Reynolds, can you get the next nine hundred soldiers ready for implanting? Brigadier Stewart wants them to reinforce the first six hundred soldiers"

Captain Reynolds gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean the next nine hundred? I thought you only had six hundred."

" His Majesty has been very busy. He managed to reprogram them, but that's the last of the original ones we have discovered" stated Doctor Crosby. Stewart just walked in, eavesdropping on the latter part of their discussion.

"Reynolds, you're still standing there. I believe Doctor Crosby gave you an order. She might not have a uniform on, but she is still second in command of the land operations here on Ikara."

The skimmer was flying through the air, just a few meters off the surface of the planet, keeping just a few hundred meters behind the dust cloud at all times and maintaining a constant check on the UAV's. They ordered the skimmers to land and they started to unload the vehicles and equipment while the bio-soldiers advanced forward to scout the area, hoping their Ikarian variants didn't see them.

They lay in wait for the dust storm to fade away. As it did, the reports from the UAV's changed. The Ikarian bio-soldiers moved in a sharp, fast formation for one of the advance scouting groups. Luckily, the Earth's bio-soldiers were close enough to get in their way and engage them. Both sides managed to miss their opponents The Ikarians managed to hit two of the Earth Bio-soldiers. However, this caused very little damage and they would suffer even less damage in the future.

The Cleo class heavy tanks moved into position to engage the Ikarians with their EMP cannons. The EMP pulses were intercepted by the Ikarian bio-soldiers from a weapon of unknown design. The Cleos moved into getting a closer range shot when all thirteen Ikarian bio-soldiers just started to run at the Cleo tanks. The drivers swung the Cleos into hard reverse and sped off, firing their twin 94mm guns. It gained them some time, as The Ikarian bio-soldiers jumped and landed in a combat roll. Then, jumping back to their feet, they gave chase again, but this time, the combined volley of the Cleos caught the Ikarian bios that slowed them down. It was not from the effects of the EMP, but they could fire a spread of anti matter blasts at the sides of the tanks. The massive explosion toppled the tanks over. Their operators knew their vehicles were going to get captured or destroyed, so they set the on board gravitic drive to over load to take out the Ikarians at point blank range. The Cleo tanks exploded, but again causing insignificant damage to the bio soldiers as their sensors showed they were building up to critical mass.

This little demo from the Ikarians showed just how fast they were and what weapons they had and the obvious limits to their sensors to detect life on the tanks. Stewart's plans were moving into place more slowly than he had wanted, but he still had time on his hands. Losing an unmanned tank was better than losing a fully manned tank. At the time the bombers started to carpet bomb the areas, they hoped the bio soldierswere heading there. There were so many bombs hitting the planet surface there wasn't a single area that hadn't been hit. Orbital scans now found a way to track the Ikarian bio-soldiers. They used some form of very advanced stealth technology. However, the Earth bio-soldiers were heading straight for their Ikarian counterparts. Unfortunately, they used a form of cloaking that made them totally invisible to sensors and to naked eyes.

All Gaim Guards in the area were ordered to stop their hunt as the Humans wanted to test out their bio pod troops against their original versions.

The EAS Swordfish, a Yamato class dreadnought, tracked the Ikarians heading in to some caverns. However, once they entered the caverns, they lost their trail. There was some kind of background radiation that blocked most sensors. It was in these caverns that the two types of bio-soldiers met in close combat fighting. The Ikarian armor, even though it had been frozen, still matured and it gave the armor some incredible strength. The Ikarians fired first impacting on one of the earth bio-soldiers chest plates. However, the personal shields absorbed most of the blast. Then the Polycrystalline-nanite armor soaked up the rest causing very little damage. Then it was the turn of the Earth soldiers to return fire, and they hit all the Ikarian bio soldiers, but they also caused minor damage only.

The Ikarians, sensing defeat, started running at the Earth soldiers, and in the final seconds, jumped over them and started to run for the cavern exit points. As the Earth bio-soldiers were being jumped over, they spun and dropped to one knee, making sure they had full power for their main weapons. They aimed and fired. Four of the Ikarians fell to the ground with holes in their backs. The other nine kept running and dodging weapons fire coming from their rear.

"What just hit us?!" screamed the leader of the Ikarian Bio team in terror through his suit's metal links.

"I'm not sure, but whatever they were, they can take us on. We have to defend Ikara at all cost! We have to make them pay for what they did to our planet. It's dead! It's barren!" yelled their commander through the link.

The Ikarians kept running, dodging what weapons fire came in their direction. All the time through their link, they were plotting a course to head them back to the Bio Facility for reinforcements.

"Everyone, we have to keep our pace up and head to the lower levels. Let's hope the Dark lords had been able to hide the main cryo chamber from the infidels. We can't be all what is left of our people! The Dark Ones said we would live on to fight another war" thundered the group commander.

"Commander, if the Passatwar were right and they never lied to us, then we might have failed our world and caused our own extinction" replied the now second in command of the group.

Once the Ikarians had gotten out of weapons range, they opened up a channel to Brigadier Stewart, informing him that the Ikarians were still at large. They were missing four of their number.

"A full weapons discharge is strong enough when at close range to burn through all their armor and travel straight through and out the front of their chest plates. So, sergeant, how is your team doing?" asked the Brigadier.

"There is no damage to the fleet, sir. We are one hundred percent fit for fighting and we are moving in to follow the Ikarians now. Sergeant Black out."

Back at the bio-organic plant, Jo-anne was trying her hardest to stay awake as she had been up for close to sixty hours. She was going to take a stim jab when king Antony walked in.

"Now Jo-anne, don't tell me you take stims. I'll think a lot less of you if you did. If you're that tired, go get some sleep or have a nice strong cup of coffee" Stated His Majesty.

"Well, as a general rule, I never take them, Majesty but I can't afford to sleep now; not with what is going on all around us" replied Jo-anne.

"Now please, Jo-anne, call me Antony. We are on our own and it looks like you need some help to sleep" insisted His Majesty in a polite but firm tone.

"Antony, I can only speak for myself. I'm too scared to sleep and eat" replied Jo-anne.

"What you need is a very strong cup of coffee and something to eat. I insist. Let's go see what's in the ration packs and I'll go make us a nice cup of coffee" replied His Majesty as he started to walk out of the room to search for food and drinks.

A few moments later, His Majesty started to boil some water for the hot drinks. Antony started to look around the kitchen, looking for as many flasks he could find and several trolleys "Well, well I haven't cooked anything in decades, and even though I was willing to cook, I can't find anything but rations" said Antony into his com link. Antony started to load up the two trolleys he had found with all the meals and water flasks he could, knowing that what he would take with them would have to last a while.

Walking in the room with a smile, he pushed in two trolleys to Jo-anne's Shock.

" I've found a roast chicken dinner with vegetables and gravy and a roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Which would you like? There are others too, but there's more of these and there are loads of starters and deserts too" stated His Majesty.

"Well your majesty my favorite meal is anything with chicken in it and that's good. I love turkey as well" replied Jo-anne. About an hour later, they had both eaten their fill.

"Now that we've eaten we can now rest and try and get some sleep" suggested His Majesty.

Jo-anne Looked at His Majesty and sighed "Yeah, feed me my last dinner, your majesty. I said I'm too scared to sleep now" stated Jo-anne.

"Its okay Jo-anne. I'll get a report on things outside and I'll have extra security placed on all the levels. This site is really secure" replied His Majesty.

"Okay please go and check. At least when I finally do managed to doze off, I'll get some sleep knowing if I fall asleep with you in the same room I'm very safe" replied Jo-anne.

"Command actual, this is His Royal Highness, King Antony. I would like an update on the hunt for those Ikarians" demanded Antony.

"Your Majesty, it's very late, but the latest reports have it that the Ikarians are down to four bio-soldiers and we've only lost six remote controlled tanks and that's it. They are around twenty-nine clicks away from your present location" replied the watch Commander.

"That's excellent work, command. Keep it up and let me know if they get within five clicks of our present location. That also includes if we take any further losses to these intruders. Thanks Command, Actual out" His Majesty closed the channel, smiling to himself, and started to head to Jo-anne to inform her there would be no harm to them.

"So Jo-anne, the nine remaining Ikarians are at least twenty-nine clicks away. We have nothing to worry, about unless…" Antony didn't even have a chance to finish his stray thought when Jo-anne gasped and asked loudly:

"Unless what Antony? No more lies or omissions! Unless what?!"

"Unless there's a storm that we don't know about and it's heading this way and they somehow can use that to get into this complex. If you feel really unsafe, we could go to my personal transport and head into orbit for safety there" stated His Majesty.

"So you really think we are safe in here Antony?" replied Jo-anne.

"Yes Jo-anne, this chamber is safe. The nanites in this building are of the latest version: the same type I fused into the bio pods" replied His Majesty.

"What, those bio pods out there now?" replied Jo-anne in a shocked tone.

"Yes this building is secure. You can be rest assured that we are in the safest place on the planet, so please, let us both catch some sleep now" insisted His Majesty. Just prior to Antony going to sleep, he opened his mind and scanned the entire planet for traps and possible dangers for them both and there were none he could sense.

Sergeant Black was marching his team ever closer to their next engagement with the nine remaining Ikarian Bio-soldiers. But there were that many teams out there hunting these Ikarians that deep down he knew he had blown the only chance. But his team had no shame. They managed to kill four of the thirteen.

"Team, don't look down on yourselves. Yes, we only took down four of those bad SOB's, but they didn't lay a finger on us, so we are number one around this place" stated Sergeant Black in their combat link through the Bio suits.

His units' com links came to life with orders from Brigadier Stewart. This time he wasn't messing their chances up he was calling in air strikes for a timed attack. The Ikarians came into the killing zone. Stewart yelled down the link: "All units fire! Aerial bombing now! Orbital bombardment commence!"

The Ikarians raised their weapons to return fire, but it was just too late for them. The intense bombing that area took was too much for them. They managed to fire their weapons out towards their attackers, but missed everything. They didn't have time to fully aim. It was like they were firing out of panic. After the area had stopped burning, the search began to see just how many of the Ikarians were cornered in this assault. On the visual count at start there were nine still alive and at the end, they found the mortal remains of all Ikarians.

Stewart, on hearing this great news, sent the confirmation to General Fu Yung and a delayed message to His Majesty King Antony, informing them of the result. On receiving his copy, General Fu Yung forwarded a copy to Admiral Von Koyster, Marshall Rommel and to the office of the Prime minister and President back on Earth.

The soldiers were returning to their ships slowly but surely. Within a period of three weeks there would only be the normal security forces on the planet, but with the bio-soldiers on patrol to support them. In the system, things were changing faster with the construction ships bringing parts of the new Inca class battle stations on line. The older Orion class stations would be rebuilt and used as defense stations for now. When the Inca program had fully ended, the Incas will be replaced with the next generation battle station.

Jo-anne Crosby strolled around the outside of the now completed nanite structure that was built around the Bio-pod factory complex. Jo-anne was in shock at the speed in which the building had been constructed. His Majesty did tell her that he had heavily modified the last probes he launched in their direction. This was the first time Jo-anne had seen the terraforming nanites working in rebuilding a world. She walked over to Major Steal, who had been originally assigned to this world as a terraforming specialist. She poked Major Steal on the shoulder to get his attention. He spun around.

"Yes, Ms Crosby? How may I be of service?Please don't say there is another pod gone missing."

Jo-anne laughed.

No,no not that. I was wondering how long we had left with the planets rebuilding as I would love to move here."

" Well Ms Crosby, His Majesty has already surveyed a plot of the planet for you and he's designing your building for you personally. He said that after being around you for a couple of days, he knew that you had fallen in love with this planet."

"Hello, Jo-anne and Steven… or should I say Major Steal?" Both of them turned around to see King Antony walking over to them with a smile on his face and a data pad in hand.

" I guess, Steven, that you told Ms Crosby, as you addressed her by the look on her face. Jo-anne, I was going to show you the blue-prints for it over breakfast this morning, but I hate to show any thing until it's finished. I hope you like this building. I don't get many chances to draw or design a building."

"So Steven, are you joining us for breakfast? I hope you can spare a few minutes. If you can't, join us for breakfast anyway, as I've got the Ikarian military base plans as well for you to look at."

" Wow, sire, you've been busy!" replied Steven.

"Well that's what I do best when I can't sleep. I have to be busy with something. Joanne, by the way, do you own your own shuttle, transport or Yacht?" asked His Majesty.

"No, your Highness. I don't own one. I don't have the funds to run my own ship."

"In that case, Jo-anne you have the funds now, and you now own your own space yacht as a thank you from me."

Major Steal's com link activated, asking him to see Brigadier Lightbridge straight away. With a salute, he moved away.

"Your Majesty, I've done nothing to warrant this and I must refuse."

"Now Jo-anne, you've given me so much since I came here and you haven't even realized it. For that, my gifts to you stand, so please take them. I owe you so very much more, but if I give you more, those who wish me removed from my office of state may wish to harm you or me. I'm making you Ikaria's First Governor General, and you may choose to run your office from your own house if you wish, but there will be an official building as your office." Antony then leaned in and gave Jo-anne a kiss on her cheek and noticed she was blushing now realizing that he had just said, in a very strange way, " I'm very sorry for that, Jo-anne."

Doctor Jones came running over "The Kirish have left, Sire. I hope they didn't tell you my great news."

"No they have left without telling me anything that I didn't already know, so what's got you red in the face my friend?" asked Antony, glancing at Jo-anne.

"Well Sire we have finally cracked the codes and we have replicated a drone already but guess what we replicated Sire?" asked Doctor Jones.

"We changed the production ship and we produced a squadron of all the drones it could produce, but we have also produced and are still producing Royal Tiger Starfuries. We can now produce as many fighters as we can in seconds. You can see where my thoughts went to there at the minute it's just theory" stated Doctor Jones in total ecstasy.

They moved to the mess hall for breakfast, talking and smiling all the time. Jo-anne knew she couldn't ask more about the kiss on her cheek, so they got on with their breakfasts. At the end of their hopefully last ration packed breakfast, Antony went to Jo-anne and said "I will be visiting you soon, but for now I have to head back to Earth." When they were alone, he leaned in again and this time kissed her full on her lips. As he pulled away he said "I will be back. But for now, I have to go. This world is now yours to control." He handed her the Governor's letter title and seal of office.

Antony walked to his Transport. "Bridge, I'm safely aboard and I hope my new special ops teams are on board too. You never know when they will be needed" said His Majesty.

"Yes, Sire. All teams are on board, including your Gaim Bodyguards" was the reply.

"That's excellent. I will be resting in my quarters for some time. My body has been through the mill down there. Please take off when ready" replied His Majesty as he walked down the hall to his private chambers. Upon entering them, he sighed like never before. "Computer, open a private channel to Marshall Yetta Von-der-tan. Let me know when she will be available to take my call."

"Marshal Yetta Von-der-tan has been waiting for your call for five minutes, your Majesty" replied The Computer.

"Please open the secure channel and put Yetta on screen for me" replied Antony.

"Hi, Your Highness. You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards" Yetta observed with a smile as her image came on the screen.

"Thank you, Yetta. That's just the look I was going for." His Highness joked. "If you had been any body else, I would have them skinned them alive or fed them to my Gaim Body guards" laughed His Majesty. They looked at each other, knowing too well that the last statement was due to Antony being tired, but he was still capable of statements with shock value when needed. "Of course you know I didn't mean that, Yetta" replied His Majesty.

"Yes I know, smarty pants, and I would like to splash some ice water on you to remind you where you are and what you are and things like that" chuckled Yetta.

"Yetta, the main reason I called you is that I want you and your full battle fleet and supply ships to make a long run in Hyperspace. It will be the longest journey that we have ever made. You will be heading to MACS0647-JD. It's a system about four billion parsecs away. With what information I have obtained from the Passatwar recordings, that is where they went. The only trouble with that, even at best speeds, it would still take best part of then months to travel there. The Kirish have said they would go, but they believe if they do, the Dark Ones will see them leave and act against Earth. Can you see my problem, Yetta? I need someone I can fully trust in command of this mission. On your accepting this, I will make sure that you have two full fleets of construction ships too. Their job is to produce more troops and you will need the basics for your journey; food and water."

" Sire, I didn't know when you were going to stop for air there. I can see with what I've read that these Passatwar were very powerful and we could do with their side of the story too. I've never turned you down yet, and so, I will not start now. After all, so many owe their lives to you, including me. What are my goals in this mission?" requested Yetta at the same time, confirming that she would take the mission.

"I need you to locate them and see if they are willing to help the children of Earth in some way. At the same time, I need you to find an area of space where Earth can rebuild, if the gods are against us as many think they are now" stated His Majesty.

"Sire you wish, I take it, is to plan for the ultra worst case scenario. You have to stop thinking of that. I know it's your job, but you have made Earth a strong and safe place to live.

"Yes, that's true. We have armies of clones ready all the time."

It was at that point Yetta realized what her secret mission was. "You want a place where we can build up a secret army and secret colonies that will remain under your direct control" stated Yetta.

"Yes and No. It's to be my Royal estate that will be safe from any out side intervention from any and all threats" stated His Majesty.

"So Sire, I must guess then I would be taking a lot of clone DNA with me so we can start the human race in another Galaxy" ventured Yetta, in a way fishing for more information.

"Yes, that's right, but I will also need you to help set up a watch program to list six other Galaxies that are worth our interest for defense and relocation" stated His Majesty.

"How long do I have to make my battle fleet ready for this mission?" requested Yetta.

"You have about three weeks. I will update you if it's more than that. I can't send a battle fleet with you without replacing it with three more full battle fleets" replied His Majesty.

"On a different subject, do you think it's time for Admiral Von Koyster to be promoted? He's at the top of my recommendations."

"What do you think?" asked His Majesty.

"When they get your flagship, they don't stay Admirals for long, so no big surprise there. As for the others, please send me their names on a sub channel for me to look over. I do have one for the Job: Admiral Rickman. He did an amazing job against the Centauri. They couldn't keep up with him. He reminds me of you, Sire" replied Yetta.

"Well then, I'm so glad he's on my short list but I will send you all the names. If we have too many Marshals, then we would have to build more ships and more sector command stations for them" replied His Majesty in a very joking way.

With great thanks to my Beta Reader Susan Hilton without her hard work the beta edition wouldn't be around.

HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER. KEEP READING AND THANKS FOR READING.

A.N. The catapult system Which I've brought into this storey is based on slowing time around the ships or objects. While at the same time increasing speed out side by factors of billions. The Galaxy from which the Passatwar fled to is the galaxy that is forthest from the Milkway Galaxy.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Four part 0ne

The Passatwar Resurrection

The Bagstaffs were in for a surprise when His Majesty came back to Earth from Ikara on the twenty-third day of June in the year 2123. He sent invitations to all the corners of the Earth Alliance. It was renamed during King Antony's working holiday on Ikara, at the meeting chamber, where meetings hadn't been held during His Majesty's reign as king. He was a bit apprehensive at what could be awaiting him when he entered the chamber. Noticing that Rezell and Rouvein were there, his mind was set at ease. They sensed his concern, and both smiled upon seeing him.

"Sire, it's good to see you back home. We have both missed you and we were both so worried for your safety, so we sent a message to the Gaim to inform them. We are very sorry for that, but we have our job and a part of that is to protect you" said both Rouvein and Rezell in their telepathic bonds to His Majesty.

"It's all right, ladies. I was fully aware of what you did and even with your mental screens at full strength, I can still read your thoughts because of our bond" responded His Majesty graciously.

"We can tell you that they wish you no harm, but they are very worried how you threw yourself into strange places and they turned out to be roads to danger" explained the duo.

"Then I will have to put their worries to one side. I will have to tell them of my next mission for the sake of my kingdom and my family. Those who wish to take over or cause me harm will regret my safe return from Ikara" said His Majesty.

"Sire, what do you mean by that?" asked the duo with shocked looks on their faces.

"Before I went on my mission, I was supposed to stay at one of my retreat houses for some rest and to catch up on all my work of office. Three of my staff were poisoned and they were found later that day dead of an unknown poison. However, the Kirish told me what it was and it came from Earth centuries ago from the Far East and for that I'm sending several of the Bagstaffs away from Earth in payment for their betrayal" stated His Majesty through their mental bond.

"We will be close by. Your military has trained us in the use of Earth Weapons. They are very different from what we used on Centauri Prime to protect The Emperor" replied the duo.

"Greetings, family, and one and all. It's great to be among you all after being on Ikara for such a long time. Yes I was away from Earth for eighteen months, helping on Ikara; a mission that ended up turning in to a full blown war. Yes, I suppose that is a heavy exaggeration. It was actually about some tomb robbers who got hold of something that they shouldn't have and caused us some mild problems" explained His Majesty.

"Yes you have been away too long the last few years. But we have voted to have your movements more controlled and your powers in both Governments reduced to just a non override action. We have voted in your absence and it was agreed in here and we were voted down in both political houses" informed Prince Khan of the former Asian Empire.

"Well, that is strange, prince Khan. We were starting to worry about who it was that poisoned my staff at Manor House in the North of England. Just to let you know, two full houses will be ready to leave Earth's orbit in two weeks. You will report to Marshal Yetta Von-der-tan, who is in control of this very, very long term mission. If any houses have any problems with this, say now or forever hold your peace" demanded His Majesty irritably.

"What? You can't do that to us! We are fully loyal to you! Prince Khan thought you were causing others to seek us out and take action against us. It could wipe us out" said Princess Gandy of the former Asian Empire.

"Don't worry everyone. Both the president and the Prime Minister kept me up to date, just like my Centauri lady Duo. So, I wish to let you know I went where I did because there was a riddle there for me to find. There was a risk, but nothing comes in life for free. There is always a price. But I'm filling your dreams with a fail safe action. I got the idea from Ikara, in which we set up a fall back colony, but at the same time set up a place for my Royal Estate. These have to be placed in another galaxy for each project" explained His Majesty.

"Sire, you think we could fail in our mission to free our galaxy from the strong arm of both sets of First Ones that claim to have our best interest at heart? Then if that's the case, we'd better make sure to send what is needed. Other than that, I'm not sure what else we would need" declared John Bagstaff.

"As we speak,Yetta is loading her ships. Just to let you know, I've handed her the Throne Ship class of starship as the command ship. Under our military command structure, each marshal should have a Throne Ship or a ship of equal quality and capability. I've ordered the renaming of several battle fleets, and I'm also dispatching two additional ones and six from my own Royal Guard Fleets. So if you have any problems or wish not to take part, let me know now, because I'm leaving in a few minutes" admonished His Majesty. That set off a collective groan, everyone saying that the meeting shouldn't end so soon.

"People, I was not aware of this meeting until I arrived back home. I have yet to fail in doing my daily tasks, even when I was knee deep in mud or crawling through collapsed hallways in what were grand buildings; built when the Human race was still living in caves and trying to make fire" said His Majesty.

"Then who will be chosen to head this mission?" asked a member of the Bagstaff council, whom Antony didn't recognize.

"I have already told you. This is all under Marshal Von-der-tan's command. The royal houses will still be under Earth rule and will remain as they are, but they will be under the thumb of the military, which I trust. Now I have to go to attend to matters of state. Several members of the defense council wish to reduce spending on many projects that I started over Century ago." He paused and smiled. "How about that? I'm still the same age I was when I was brought out of cryo sleep, but that's another story. Our family has our own jobs to do. Our ancestors started this long ago; some records I have seen indicate they go back just over a thousand years, although some say under a thousand years. Either way, I won't allow the human race to die out. I'm here to keep our hold on power and to help our race to survive" stated His Majesty.

Antony then stood up and started to head to the door. Soon, all the infighting had stopped and they all went quiet. Then His Majesty stopped and looked back to see them all waiting. As soon as he turned to face them, they all saluted him, chanting his name. After Antony had left the room, all the Bagstaff houses started to talk among themselves, not knowing that they were all being watched by techno-mage nanite bugging devices, placed by His Majesty to keep track of the events as he left.

"Yetta, how are things coming? I'm sorry, but I'm sending you at least two royal houses for you to boss around and re-educate for me. They only see one side of a fifty sided building. Their sight is so narrow that they can't see the light for all the junk they place in the way."

"Wahoo, so I get to boss another royal pain in my ass around!" Yetta joked. "Please tell me I get more pain killers on this mission or at least some really good alcohol" she whined.

"Yes Yetta, you're getting both and when I say good alcohol, there is nothing under fifty years old. That's starting with wine, all the way up to Schnapps, which is your favorite, if I remember correctly" replied Antony.

"Yes you have a good memory, Antony but you're seldom wrong" replied Yetta.

Over the next two weeks, which spread into a third week, due to the defense oversight committee wanting to know the full reason for this expedition, also wanting to know the full ins and outs and why it was of such great concern to get it in motion now. However, the more they pushed, the more they saw the power and authority of the King being shown. He even took the committee to court, which in the end stopped all government agencies from stepping in and looking into projects run by the crown.

The EAS Tidestone was the latest version of the mobile jump-capable battle craft that had been sent from the Royal ship yard when it was finished. Those who ran it were ordered to use the hyper catapult system, which could reduce long journeys down to mere minutes. Marshal Rickman walked onto the battle bridge and looked around at everyone present and cleared his throat. "Computer put me on station wide intercom, please. Ladies and Gentlemen, I know this is a very strange thing we are about to do. We are the largest ship or object to be tested on the catapult drive system. We have a set of predetermined co-ordinates at the far reaches of known space. From there, we will be setting up the breach head for the galaxy expansion fleet to follow us. I'm also aware that I've not yet had the honor or privilege to serve along side you, but we soon will. Good luck to us all. Close channel. Bring all systems to green and stand by for catapult drive."

Moments later, the Tidestone moved away from space dock and entered hyperspace at speeds no one could think was possible. Marshal Von-der-tan was watching via video link, as well as all the senior officers for this mission and the Royal Houses of Earth. "Computer, send a message to His Majesty, King Antony and inform him that once we have things up and running, we will start to set course for MACSO647-JD" stated Yetta.

"Marshal Von-der-tan, you have an incoming signal from Earth's High Command" stated the computer.

"Then please put it on for me" requested Yetta.

"Greetings,Yetta. I thought I would give you the go ahead from me personally. I've also sent on a sub channel all the information I have on the Passatwar. I just hope they allow you to talk to them. I hope you have made sure you have enough telepaths for this. I know the Tidestone does" said His Majesty, also wishing Marshal Von-der-tan a fair and good voyage.

The EAS Von-der-Tan was making final preparations for its journey to the far reaches of our universe. The final cargo transports and shuttles were getting either clearance for landing or departure. Yetta was proud as punch, sitting in a ship with her name on it. Only a few people had been given the honor of a ship being named after them but never while that person still lived. The Von-der-tan was fitted with all the creature comforts, and was also fitted with an organic inner skin layer that would help if the hulls were ever breached.

"Com officer, do me the honor and open a channel to Marshal Von Koyster please" requested Yetta.

"Channel is open sir" replied the Com officer.

"Stephan, it's good to see you and I'm over the moon for you about your promotion. I bet you wish you were coming with me. However, I bet you have the same nagging feeling I've got. I know you will be able to keep His Majesty in line and safe."

"Yes, Marshal I do. Since you have this mission, I'm taking over your job. I will have an admiral to break in" responded Von Koyster.

"Yes, Stephan. You do know that my first name is Yetta. You can use it now, since we are of similar ranks" stated Yetta.

"Sir, the docking master has just sent us a message, stating that the last supply ships have just docked back at the station from all your fleets" informed the Com Officer.

"Excellent. We are now ready for the long trip" Yetta said. "Now keep this together. This is our last best hope if the shadows win and destroy Earth." Yetta took a final look at Earth and flipped her fleet wide com toggle on her command chair. "Fleets Actual to all ships: set course and link all jump drives to fleet. When all ships are showing ready, we jump" then before Yetta had a chance to finish her speech, all jump engines came on line and all the battle fleets started to enter hyperspace in slow waves.

The hyperspace jumps took around twenty minutes to jump so many ships at once. The view of so many ships traveling at their maximum speed was a sight to behold. Not wishing to use the catapult drive system that would have reduced the journey by a factor to just under one hundred percent would make time for the crews to get to know each other while they read up on the Passatwar.

"Inform our expedition to keep sensors at full and set jammers to maximum. Bring the friend and foe system on line so friendly ships can see us" ordered Captain Walter Wayne.

"Yes Captain" acknowledged both the sensor and tactical officers at the same time.

"People, I need to make sure you all know what we are getting ourselves into out here. This is far more than what His Majesty had passed through both Earth Governments. This is a massive search mission for a race called the Passatwar. They could explain the human missing link theory and if they can, we must find out what happened. The last part we have some idea on, but we would like that to be answered." stated Marshal Von-der-tan.

Back on Centauri Prime, Prince Robert and Prime Minister Miro were having one of their early morning meetings.

"So Miro, have the shipments from Earth shown your people that we are not here to destroy your world but to help it grow along with Earth?" asked Robert.

"Oh yes, Sire. Our people's support for you and Earth has grown. There is no dissent or even riots on the streets like there was in some areas of Centauri Prime. They don't even mind how your Father, King Antony introduced Christmas to us and made it a national holiday back to Earth. Some of the Centaurum have even liked how much money they are making now under you" replied Miro.

"So as long as they make money and are happy for it, they will love Earth" replied Robert.

"Now let's get back to the real matters at hand. The new enlarged war ship has just gone through testing back home. The Entrapment class Battleship and thirteen sister ships have finally finished their training mission. They will arrive in Centauri Prime orbit within the day" informed Prince Robert.

"Then, Sire, I will make it known to the watch commanders they are not to attack them" replied Miro.

"Well, that would be a start. I would like fourteen Centauri Officers to take command of them as their flag ships. The officers will have the rank of Fleet Admiral and they will take command of the fourteen royal guard fleets around the old Centauri Republic borders" stated Robert.

"That is a grand and great request, Sire. I will get on to it straight away" replied Miro.

"On another subject, do Centauri Prime and its former colonies have enough food to last if the worlds became under siege? I'm just asking, because on all of the Earth worlds we have to maintain enough supplies to last at least fifteen years" asked Robert.

"Sire, I don't have the information on that. I know the child birth rate has gone through the roof since Earth created new areas for our people to live. Even the old areas long since forgotten by the palace historians are now inhabited" replied Miro in a very warm tone.

"For the next part of business, has the traitor Former Lord Refa been found yet?" asked Robert while doing a mild scan of Miro to search for a hint of lies or betrayal.

"No, sire. We have had no sign of him or his now rogue family. We do know he still has friends and wealth, but they won't help him forever" replied Miro. Robert sensed no form of deception from Lord Miro, so he continued.

"If there's no sign of them off Centauri Prime, do you think someone has helped them off world somehow?" replied Robert.

"Yes, sire, and that's why I placed your own personal guards at the star ports along side mine as they can't be bribed. They're too well paid" replied Miro.

"Well done. I can see why my father trusted you so much in such a short time. I think we have covered all our daily tasks. I think it's time to let the Centaurum in for the day" laughed Robert.

Back on Narn at the same time, the Narn, with the aid of Earth, had reclaimed all of their territories and secured a very strong defense grid around every world that would only get stronger as time passed. It was the first day of the rebuilt KhaRi, and with such heavy defense technology built into the structure, it would make it extremely unlikely that it could ever be destroyed, even from orbit. Around the KhaRi building stood large towers spread apart by a gap of ten meters. The building had a circle of towers for every circle of the KhaRi. In these towers were placed Gravitic shield generators. These were powered from geo-thermal power, solar power and an anti matter reactor deep beneath the KhaRi building.

The Narn Monarch Tra-vel stood and moved to address his people.

"My fellow Narns, we stand today for the first time in our new super fortress that was built with aid from our new brothers and sisters from Earth. Without their support, I know now that we would have been slaves to the Centauri for a long time. Now Earth has taken control of what was the Centauri Republic. We have only ourselves now to look after. Yes, we will grow our fleets and do as the Humans do, explore space to find places from which we can settle, but to let you all know, Antony, the King of all Earth wishes to speak to us right now." They all bowed in respect to Earth's monarch.

"Greetings, my friends. I wish I would have been able to travel to Narn to be there for your opening of your new KhaRi building. For those that don't fully realize what the secrets are of your new building, I will tell you some now. The KhaRi building has a workshop more like a fleet yard to produce your very own council Guard ships for council members and to help defend Narn. There is a small fighter garrison that can hold 500 Squadrons of any fighter. At the moment it holds Talon class heavy fighters. There is also deep down at the extreme lower levels a hospital complex that can accommodate over three hundred thousand patients. The secrets go on and on. They are all listed in your new Government archive that's also in the building, and yes, you also have a large military garrison as well." He looked around the room taking in all its wonders and seeing the surprised looks on their faces he started again. "The old buildings in this area have been cleared and turned into a government star port and military buildings with extra storage. We have helped to improve and harden your now improved extensive underground tunnels that interconnect with all areas of the capital."

Tra-vel turned around to look at the screen and nodded, giving His Majesty his full support and thanks.

"Your Majesty, you never seem to know how not to help us. If you keep this up, we won't be able to act for ourselves, but we are so grateful to the things you have given us. You left out the military buildings. They also house warships and they are a part of the KhaRi defense fleet. With the shield and ships, this building is safe from any attack. Every tower has its very own reactor as well. You reveal yourself towards the people of Narn as good trustworthy friends, and for that we bow our heads to you in gratitude. If Earth ever needs the people of Narn, we stand ready to die to help you live" stated Tra-vel in a very happy tone. Behind Tra-vel, the whole KhaRi took to their feet, shouting their support to Tra-vel for what he had just said.

On Minbar, the home world of the mighty Minbari, they had just heard the fate of the Centauri Republic to a child race. The head of the Warrior caste, Shandral, was outraged to think this race could attack them now that they covered the Centauri front.

"Dralk, put me in touch with the grey council. I need to speak to them. We have a new threat at our doors. We don't know much about them for now, but soon we will learn all that we can."

"Master, how do we know they are a major threat? The Centauri are very arrogant and they got taught a costly lesson. However, Master, if they do come our way, we will also teach them a lesson that will cost them all" replied Dralk.

"Yes, you are so correct, and that is why I will demand a stronger founding for our fleet. The added fleet increases means we will have to increase our fleet production by double or even triple for a short time" replied Shandral.

Shandral's com system came to life and a holographic image appeared in front of both Shandral and Dralk.

"Shandral, we have just monitored a strange object about 40 minutes ago in hyperspace, traveling at such speeds it was past our sensor scans in mere minutes" reported Shai Alyt Branshan.

"Did you try to follow it? How far away from you was it when your scans picked it up?" asked Shandral

"Master, it was enormous. It had to be at least one hundred kilometers in length and width. Within moments, it was well beyond our extreme sensors, even at full power" replied Branshan.

"Then you had better mark those co-ordinates for future monitoring. If something that big is lurking about, we should go see the Vorlons to see if they can help us. We will only send a message and see what comes back from them" replied Shandral.

"Master, the computers have estimated the course. They were heading on course for Zâ-ha-dum. Could Valen have gotten the times wrong?" asked a confused and stressed Branshan.

"For the answer to that, we would need to talk to the Religious caste, so we can see better what mistakes they have made" replied a rather angry Shandral.

Yetta walked onto the bridge of the Von-der-tan, looking around for the sensor officer.

"Commander Kai, where are we in hyperspace?" asked the Marshal.

"We have just left Earth space, and we are close to a major race. What information the Centauri gave us, we are fully following the course set by the Tidestone, so we should be safe" replied the sensor officer.

"All stations keep your eyes on the area of space that is close to this race and mark the area with long range probes" ordered the Marshal.

"Sir, this may seem like a daft question, but aren't we now traveling into or very close to the no travel zone set up by His Majesty?" asked Commodore Shelia Drake.

"Yes we are, Shelia, but it must be done to gain entry to the Galaxy we are heading to" replied the Marshal.

As the EAS Von-der-tan was leaving our galaxy and heading into the void of nothingness in between galaxies, the Tidestone was coming out of catapulted hyperspace travel, into the location just twenty minutes away from normal hyperspace travel to MACSO647-JD.

"Great, people. Let's start unloading this beauty and deploying our mass complexes to the surrounding areas. We have to make this place so big that any fool can't miss us" laughed marshal Rickman. Commodore Lisa Crouch walked in from her side office.

"Sir, I have just given the orders to start deploying the Unity class Trading Posts we have on board. I've also given orders to start towing all of the Orion class space stations into a defensive location for our added protection and that of the sentry stations. I've also got a couple of Mauryan class defense stations for our first star system we control."

"Don't worry about the deployments so soon, but great work all the same, Lisa. Our primary job is to send out scouts to the nearest star system to see what is there and if we can use it. We have about two weeks of hard graft ahead of us, and then we have a further five weeks of making it ready for Marshal Von-der-tan and her Royal delegation" informed Marshal Rickman. Everyone looked at him with awe, and were trying to figure out which Royal members were where and secretly wishing for His Majesty to come. "People, before you all leave, I will let you know it's Prince Cougar Khan and his wife, Princess Yazmin Khan. There will be others coming, but who and why is another question" said Rickman.

"You heard the Marshal. Everyone get your fingers out of your butts. We have jobs to do, so no holding back. The more we talk, the harder we all have to work" instructed Commodore Crouch.

"Lisa, how many transport ships are due in the next few hours? I know I ordered more transports to help us set up" asked Yetta.

"We picked them up some time ago, and they will be here in no time. It just depends on their drive speed. If I were to guess, I would say forty minutes at last sighting" replied Crouch.

Yetta walked over to her command chair and pushed the intercom button. "Can Fleet Captain Trance report to command and control at once, please" Yetta pushed the button again and the channel was closed.

A few minutes later, Trance entered command and control. He looked at Marshal Rickman, smiled and saluted. "Reporting as ordered sir"

"Thank you for coming, Trance. I need your squadron to search out the Passatwar. They are in this galaxy someplace."

"A galaxy is a big place to look for something, especially when you don't know where to start" replied Rickman.

"So you want me to go out into an unknown galaxy and start looking for a species that may no longer be around?" replied Trance in a very sarcastic tone.

Rickman burst out laughing to Trance's reply. "Well boy that's what I want you to do, but we do have a starting point for you, if that will help you" replied Rickman, still smirking from Trance's last statement.

Trance picked up a data crystal that had all the information that he would need. "That my boy is complements of His Majesty. That's the location the Passatwar chose to use as their entry point into this galaxy" informed Rickman.

Meanwhile on Zâ-ha-dum, the Transdraculoom were once again standing in front of their great machine, watching an image of a very large ship. The ship perplexed Transdraculoom to the point that they were forced to wake another sleeping guardian to help look for the answers. "Zhamtralkum, you have now seen what I have seen. What do you make of it?" asked the first guardian.

"The ship is traveling at speeds that we can't match and its course will take it to another galaxy. They could be leaving this galaxy, knowing that they will die if they stay or they are searching for something or someone" replied Zhamtralkum.

"They are leaving behind probes. We could send some ships to follow to see what they find and to learn the answers that they seek there" ordered Transdraculoom.

"Agreed, Transdraculoom. We will dispatch four ships and full fighter support. However, we will make a fleet of sixty ready from our bases elsewhere. Then we will start the summoning orders for all ships to return home" Demanded Zhamtralkum.

Trance headed to the EAS Avenger, a Shinano class combat carrier of which his squadron was made up of four of this class. The EAS Avenger and her squadron moved off to a safe location to jump to hyperspace. Trance flicked his fleet wide com switch as soon as they got into hyperspace.

"Squadron actual to all units: I'm sending you all a set of co-ordinates and our mission is a basic coffee and cake run. We have to search out a species that used to live in our galaxy, and the catapult system in which the Tidestone used to get us here is very similar to what the Passatwar used. The catapult system was developed not long after His Majesty theorised hyperspace travel" informed Trance.

"So Trance, what you are saying is we are looking for a life form that used to live in our galaxy so Earth can play happy families with a race?" replied Captain Styles of the EAS Blackpool.

"Well Styles, it's not that simple, but it never is when you have to send the military in to check things out first. It's very hush, hush at the moment. Marshal Von-der-tan is coming and that's all I know for now. So people, please keep this loose. I don't want to lose any of my friends and my hard trained team" stated Trance in a joking tone.

"Yeah, it's great to realize that you love us that much" said the female captain, Rebecca Samuels.

The Trance squadron, as they liked to be named, was moving towards the location they set in their systems. When they arrived, the engines started to reduce power.

"Sensors to full. Tell me what's out there and stand by to bring secondary jump lines active. Tactical, have ready three probes and inform each ship to do the same. When we all have the probes online, activate main jump engines and send the first probe through" ordered Trance.

"Sir, all ships have signaled that their probes are ready and are opening vortexes now. The first wave of four probes has been launched" informed Lieutenant Blackman.

After twenty minutes, all twelve probes had been launched to normal space. The images coming back filled the crew with dread. They saw the ships that were in orbit and they showed no signs of damage yet the ships were adrift. Trance again tapped his fleet wide com button and this time he only said "Jump to normal space in five seconds." All the ships activated their jump drives and moved into normal space. They were scanned by an unknown source.

Then they were hailed by an automated signal.

"Greetings, dear cousin. Your genetic scans show you to have our DNA in your bodies. You are more than welcome here, but be warned: the disease that did this may still be active." The automated signal ended.

"Captain Styles, send a report to Marshal Rickman. Inform him we have found a planet that may have been of Passatwar origin and tell him about the snag if you can." Trance then closed the channel. "People, let's get busy. I want full sensors on that planet and each ship in turn. I also want atmospheric probes launched, just to be on the safe side" ordered Trance.

"Sickbay, we may need a bio hazard team ready as we have to head to a planet and they placed in orbit a warning about a disease that did this. Initial scans show the ships have maintained their orbit perfectly and scanned the state of what were cities. I would have a guess at no less than one hundred thousand years it's been like this, but I could be wrong" stated Trance.

"Trance, my boy, it looks like you found what Marshal Von-der-tan was looking for. We don't have many explorer ships or medical ships on board, but when we get a chance to free them up, we will send them your way. They will be with before Marshal Von-der-tan arrives that I do promise" stated Marshal Rickman.

The IPX Draconia was one of the new breed of explorer class ships. They were built with better sensors than the older versions in use with Earth. The ships came out of hyperspace in direct orbit over the planet that Earth had named New Hope. The Draconia had linked in to all the atmospheric probes that were launched and was downloading all the information they had gathered in the short time they had been activated. The air samples came back free from all forms of toxins and diseases as they knew it. They even ran checks on the disease that was mentioned on data recordings found on Ikara.

The low orbit scans showed that the cities were still as good as new, but there was just no life on it, even microscopic. The disease that the Passatwar had had mentioned had been eradicated, but left some of them sterile. The records they had were not fully clear, but all they could do was take in scans and record everything no matter what, as it could hold some form of key to the puzzle.

After the Draconia came back with no visible signs of danger to life, the entire bio-hazard team was made ready to land.

"Trance this is Doctor Helen Carter. We have started to give out the jabs to prevent catching the disease. My worry is what happens if we become sterile like the Passatwar." postulated Dr Carter.

"There is no problem there. You only go sterile if you have the disease and when you take it the antidote, or that's how it reads to me" laughed Trance.

"Yes Trance and that's why you fly around in a space ship all day long and I get to visit nice new worlds for fun" replied Dr Carter.

"Flight bay, this is Trance. Ready the bio-hazard team and have them land and take in the area. Make sure you land by what we believe to be their main city, their capital for lack of a better word" ordered Trance. Trance pushed his fleet wide com channel button. "All ships this is squadron actual. Pick a part of the capital city or what we believe to be their capital. That way, we can spread out teams and hopefully we find someone or some clue to help us out" explained Trance in a commanding voice.

Within seconds, the shuttles carrying the bio-hazard teams were launching all with their pre-programmed landing co-ordinates. Lieutenant Commander Alfred Granger stepped out of the first shuttle, taking readings. After doing his initial hand held scans, he turned around and signaled for the rest of his team to disembark from the shuttle.

"Make sure you get all our supplies, everyone. We are going to be here for some time" ordered Granger. Then he started to point to a location "It's about a five minute walk away. We will set up base camp there. Make sure the bio-hazard tents get set up first." After giving out his orders he closed his mind off to those around him and started a level 12 PSI scan of their entire area, looking for places to start. Granger started when one of the buildings spoke to him, welcoming them to Dracora.

"Granger to Trance! Come in sir, please respond!" requested Granger in a panicked voice.

"Yes, Granger, what's got you spooked? You just landed on the planet" replied Trance in a surprised tone of voice.

"Sir, I just found out from a talking building that this planet is called Dracora! I'm requesting more PSI teams brought down; as many as can be spared" requested Granger.

"Consider it done. I'll see what the IPX team has as well, and if we can't spare many now, I will send for more from Tidestone. I'll let you get back to work. You know I've got my ears open for you. Good hunting down there, Granger I will look forward to your report about the talking building. Trance out." The transmission closed.

Lieutenant Bush looked over at Granger and asked "Commander are you OK, sir? You look a little pale."

"Bush did you not hear that? Have you not done your PSI scans yet?" asked Granger.

"No, sir. I was setting up the landing beacon for the shuttles and the signal booster. I was just about to do it when I noticed you" replied Bush.

"Please don't let me stop you and please scan away at your leisure" replied Granger. Bush then stood up and started opening his mind to the surrounding area. He could feel his team personnel around them, including Granger, and how concerned he was. Then Bush pushed beyond that and straight away touched a building. This time the strange building spoke in a more gentle tone than when it did to Granger.

"Welcome child of the Guardians to the planet Dracora. I'm sorry for the way I spoke to your other telepathic friend. It's been so long since I talked to a living person and not just another living building."

"We have come looking for a race called the Passatwar to ask them to help us in the war that is sure to come between the sides of light and darkness. However, our world was told the truth and we wish to end the cycle of death and to save our race from possible extinction" said Bush.

"Then you have come to the right place, but as you can see, they fled this world in fear. Many of the Passatwar were dying from a disease that they thought was created by the Dark Ones. It was actually started from the Dark ones. That is fear. When they came here, they stopped wanting to be what they were. They wanted to live and evolve. The gift from a Maker stopped them from evolving to the next point of life. They tried to fix it, but in doing, altered the Dark Ones' disease. I don't have all the information you require. The Passatwar sealed our building so we couldn't communicate with other buildings."

At the same moment, aboard the Von-der-tan,Yetta and her senior officers were going over plans. It was now clear on why so many Royal members were asked to come along on this mission. They were all techno-mages and rather strong ones, and all PSI 25+. That was showing to be rather handy, but a strain on Yetta.

"People, I know it's hard to come up with a point of action from here. I wish to send ahead the Dracula Battle group. Their job is to head to the site of the first possible settlement. I've received a data only transmission from Marshal Rickman, in which he asked us to send as many telepaths as we could to that location; also any techno-mages from the royal guards and royal family members too" said Marshal Von-der-tan.

Prince Khan looked at the Marshal and laughed.

"Do you know, Marshal, that no matter how strong I try to scan you, I can't. I also know you're a strong telepath and rumors have it you're also a very powerful telekinetic."

"Don't forget, Sire, I'm also empathic. His Majesty was going to show me the basis of becoming a techno-mage once years ago. Now the question you have to ask is if he did, and if he did, how good does he think I am?" replied the Marshal smirking all the time, knowing she had to do that to put His Royal Highness Prince Khan in his place.

"I should warn you that all the senior officers on this ship and taking part in this mission all served aboard the test flight of the Throne Ship or its escorts" stated Fleet Admiral Becket.

"Well then, it looks like it's me who's heading to help Rickman. What's the name of the officer in charge of the operation?" asked Prince Khan.

"It's Fleet Captain Trance and he won't be remaining there when the Dracula battle group arrives. He will return to the Tidestone with his crew, but their base camp will remain. There is one small alteration to that: Trance has a team down on the surface that made contact with a strange talking building, made of bio-organic matter, so they will remain to look into it" said Becket.

Moments later, the Dracula fleet moved off to allow their Catapult drive to charge, and after ten minutes of charging, they were ready.

"This is Rear Marshal Davidson to Dracula Battle group. Stand by for catapult drive. It will only last a few seconds at the range we are to the location. All hands, rig for battle stations. This is not a drill" ordered Rear Marshal Davidson.

"In ten seconds, jump."

The battle group moved forward at such speed they were beyond sensors within ten seconds. Five minutes later, their catapult drive went off line and normal jump vortexes were forming, allowing the safe transit of the entire Dracula Battle group.

Marshal Davidson flipped his fleet wide com switch.

"All hands, take up defensive postures. Launch all bio-hazard and telepath ground units" Davidson flipped the switch again to close the channel. "Com officer, get me Fleet Captain Trance now."

The channel opened and Trance appeared on the screen.

"Greetings, Marshal Davidson, and welcome to the Dracorian system, sir" acknowledged Fleet Captain Trance.

"Thank you, Captain. I bet you thought you wouldn't see us for days. I know your ships didn't have enough personnel for this mission, so I was ordered to pull forward. Take count of everything, and then I will relieve you of your job in the Dracorian system, as you call it" instructed Marshal Davidson.

"Thank you. My crews will take some time to fully get back to the ships. If it were anybody else, I think I would have been treated differently, but thank you again" replied Trance.

"Trance, that was long ago, and I can tell you now that we know it wasn't your fault what happened. We are still safe and well; just a lot older, but still looking as young as ever. So those that curse you must want to learn that the heaviest price is not always the easiest to bear. That's what you have to deal with" replied the Marshal.

"Thank you all. If not for people like you, I would still be commanding a tender ship. I can see now why His Majesty likes to take risks, and he's older than us by at least a century" laughed Trance.

"Yes he is, and he has wisdom to match his age. I do know that you had been turned down for a promotion three times. So, by my calculations, that should make you either a Supreme Commodore or a Rear Admiral" guessed Davidson.

"Sir, I was demoted from a Rear Admiral and knocked back to Captain. It was His Majesty who forced them to make me Fleet Captain" replied Trance.

Trance looked at the screen, trying to work out what was being said to him. He refused to get worked up about a promotion. He had held his present rank longer than any other officer in the fleet. He knew deep down he was well liked and that was why he was given this job. He was the most experienced squadron leader in Earth's entire fleet. All a sudden, the screen went dark and the tactical officer had switched the ship to yellow alert.

"Sir we have a ship entering the system. It appears to be very advanced, and of Passatwar design. It's moving for the Dracula" announced lieutenant Commander Clarkson.

The ship appeared out of nowhere and was moving very fast for the Flagship. They had no visible weapons. Earth knew a lot about Passatwar vessels. They looked harmless, but they could wipe out entire fleets with a single flick of their wrists.

Aboard the Dracula, Davidson was running by the numbers. "Get me fleet wide. Fleets do not, repeat, do not lock weapons on to the approaching vessel. If you have to do anything, try and scan it if you can" ordered Davison, looking at the com officer to close the channel.

"They're hailing us, sir and they are scanning us and they have our language files only" reported the sensor officer.

"Unidentified vessels, what brings you to this galaxy? We know you are not from around here, as we are the only life form who lives here. Our scans show that you come from our home system: a long way from this galaxy. Did the Guardians send you to find us?" asked the voice from the unknown ship in a very demanding tone of voice.

"Greetings… this is the Earth ship Dracula and I'm Marshal Davidson, commanding officer of our forces in this system. We were sent by our leader, His Majesty, King Antony of Earth to seek out a race of life forms called the Passatwar and are on a peaceful mission. We have no idea who these guardians are unless you call the Kirish Guardians. They gave us all the knowledge that they could to help bring peace with the two ancient called the Vorlons and the Shadows. We learned of the Passatwar from a planet we now control called Ikara" replied Davidson.

"Greetings Davidson, and welcome to the Galaxy we call Refuge. Our sensors picked your ships up some time ago and we wondered why you would send such numbers if not to invade our galaxy. We know that world… such destruction. It's the reason why we fled that place with the help of the Guardians. We were betrayed by the Ikarians. We still suffer today from the pain of that betrayal" stated the voice, which still refused to identify itself.

"Much has changed back there. We are now making our forces ready to defend ourselves from the Shadows and probably the Vorlons too. The Kirish have shown us much, and we have learned even more. We know that both of those races have been to Earth and have taken people with them to turn to their way of thinking. We also know that for some strange reason the Passatwar have the genetic makeup from five major races in our galaxy as now; the Narn who are our strongest ally, the Centauri, whom we now control, ourselves and two others; the Minbari, who are the oldest and a race called the Dilgar" replied Davidson.

"Then you have at least learned that your race is strong, but knowing that doesn't give you the right to think that we will talk and become friends with you. However, what we are doing now shows some degree of trust. You gave up some of your power by naming yourself. Strength doesn't make one wise or worthy. It comes from actions on this day" explained the voice again in a more playful mode than it started out in.

Davison looked at everyone and didn't panic or say anything. He just started to laugh to himself.

"Computer, please activate the pre-programmed holo-recording" ordered Davidson. A fully interactive hologram appeared on the bridge of the Dracula.

"Passatwar vessel, I'm a fully interactive hologram of the King of Earth. If you wish we can talk and we will see if I can gather your trust for my people."

"If you wish to place your hopes in a hologram, then so be it, child" replied the voice.

"Passatwar vessel, your voice sounds familiar to me. I'm running it now through all the historical vids we have of your people" replied the hologram.

"I will have to make sure to test your knowledge of my people. But I would have to guess that most of your information on us have either come from this system or from Ikara unless you found a ship with our full history library on it" quizzed the voice.

"If I have to guess, I would say your voice hasn't changed much. You are Shandrak and your rank is Vendorleam. Is that correct?" asked the hologram in an interrogative tone.

"That is a surprise that you didn't just find out my name but my rank as well. My next question is what do I command? I wonder if you know the answer to that" replied Shandrak.

"You command or commanded your first fleet. You are right. I found that information on Ikara. Everything else is sheer guesswork" replied the hologram.

"You are correct, but I'm worried. How have you come to us for help? Have you been told to find us or did your soul tell you to come?" requested Shandrak.

"I can say my heart called to me when I saw how you looked when you were betrayed on Ikara. I saw light in your heart when the Guardians arrived and stopped the shadows in their paths" replied the hologram.

"Why are you here?" asked Shandrak.

"We are here to serve all life in the hope of eternal light and wisdom" replied the hologram.

There was a flash of light and there in front of them stood Shandrak. "Greetings, Shandrak, and welcome aboard the EAS Dracula" stated Marshal Davidson somewhat astonished.

"Your hologram did well with my minor tests, but the final question is how you got here?" asked Shandrak. The hologram smiled

"This will be my final answer. We came here using a type of hyperspace travel that I designed nearly 150 years ago on Earth. Your temporal time drive was very close to my original design. It was so very easy to modify our engines to use a Catapult system to propel our ships at speeds up to one million times the speed of light. Your calculations I found showed your ships were capable of traveling no faster than ten thousand times the speed of light while in hyperspace, creating the illusion of instantaneous galaxy travel" explained the hologram.

Within seconds of the hologram finishing its explanation, it deactivated and the program was auto deleting itself from the Dracula's memory banks.

"For a child race, you have so much knowledge that you would be a danger to any that stood in your way. I would also include the Passatwar in that. Apart from that, I see only good in you all and the strangest of feelings that we have met once before. However, that could be due to my people having a part of your DNA running in our genetic makeup. The guardians told us that the part that wishes to share knowledge and the part that won't seek out war would search us out and they would be the true guardians" informed Shandrak.

Shandrak raised his arm and a holographic image came to life.

"This is a guardian. The only thing they did was help those that couldn't help themselves. Even the ancient one called Lorien once told me that they were the race that told him he was the first born life form and that they came from another place and time. We still don't know much, except that they created us from the five mightiest races their eyes had ever seen" explained Shandrak.

"So you never saw what they looked like out side their armored bodies?" replied Davidson in a quizzical kind of way.

"They left to go to another universe or dimension. We hear from them now and then. They advised us to place sentry satellites around our whole galaxy, so we did, even though it seemed very strange to us. We asked if we should remove the debris from the arrival world so they couldn't find us. They replied that they wished us no harm, and you will see if you choose wisely who to greet them. That was it. That was our last message from our Gods. Some would say they did create us and they created us to be the best and wisest of the Young Ones. That was the term they had for us, their children" said Shandrak.

"Well I wonder if there is any like that in our galaxy" pondered Davidson.

"Yes. The race that is called Minbari claims that we were the guardians of the young ones. These are the ones the Vorlons have blessed and the Shadows and the race that they blessed are unknown to us now" replied Shandrak. Shandrak's personal com unit bleeped and he turned to Davidson "I must go and make my report to my leaders. We will see each other again, children; when I'm not sure, but soon" stated Shandrak. As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished once more and his ship started to move away at speeds that made Earth ships look like they were trapped in quicksand.

"Come on, people. Are we going to just stand here or do we have work to do? If I didn't know any better, I would say you just met someone new from another race" laughed Marshal Davidson. Admiral Heinz popped up from the rear of the bridge laughing.

"Don't worry, sir. We've got the recorders online just in time to catch the arrival of Shandrak. I'm now forwarding that information to both Earth Command and Marshal Von-der-tan" announced Admiral Heinz.

"As usual, Admiral, you're ahead of us all. What did you make of Shandrak?" asked Davidson.

"Well he's just what I thought the Passatwar would be like. We only now have to find the rest of them in this Galaxy."

Davidson walked over to his command chair, looking at the screen in amusement.

"People, I want those ships secured. Get the boarding teams as soon as they are up and running and under our control. I want to put them to a test to see if our ships would stand any chance if these Passatwar decide to turn aggressive against us" instructed Marshal Davidson.

"Don't just sit there. Get your fingers out. We have to be ready for Commander Troy" said Admiral Heinz. He waited a few seconds, nodding at the screen with head phones on. "I don't care about hearing about problems. Get them launched ASAP or I will come down there and burn your favourite pin up poster" warned the Admiral.

Admiral Heinz chuckled. "OK, you have ten minutes to clear the hangars of the incoming ships and then turn them around and re-launch them." That's when the Admiral took his head phones off and turned off the channel.

"Wow, I hope no one plays poker with the CAG. He's smoking hot today" He laughed as he walked to the lift door.

Meanwhile on the planet's surface, Doctor Hilary Jones was getting close to a building she hoped was a primary data building. "Jason, are you certain this is their archive building?" asked Hilary.

"Yes, Doctor Jones. If I was building a city on this scale, I would want the archive building close to the government building, which is over there" he started to point at a tall building with flags all around it.

"Unit team twenty-one, this is Jones. I've sent you the location of a building I want your team to investigate for me. We will be across the road in what we think is their archive centre."

"All ground units, we have air support now for you send up smoke or activate your emergency beacon on your com links. We have managed to get some information of some cities. We are now translating the information. However, the maps will help you find buildings faster. Fleet actual out" Davidson reported.

"We'll check the data maps and see if we can read their lingo" said Doctor Jones.

"Well we'd better be able to. After all, it's our job. You don't want the military beating us again. They would send a patrol out and find a medical centre. Yeah and look what we found on our first attempt: a decaying silo of food or I think it was food, although it looks like something else" cringed Doctor John Watson.

"What's up John? Don't tell me you're still a little ticked that I walked straight into you and you fell into that gunk" asked Xu Caihou, a Chinese IPX member, laughing as he turned his back from John. "I'm very sorry for that, John. Just thinking about it makes me laugh as I thought it said food store and you thought it said medical store. We will never truly know what it was, but we still could be right or wrong."

"Enough, people. We have to get the data unlocked from these systems while we have some light or it means setting up camp in the building. That means we would have to get in touch with the local soldier boys and girls so they can come and hold our hands while we sleep. Some of us have nightmares, don't you Caihou, when you're in new places?" laughed Doctor Jones, getting one back for Doctor Watson. Xu stood up and looked at John and Hilary and bowed.

"Forgive my rudeness. It's so out of character for me to take such pride in others' misfortune." begged Xu in a very polite and upset manner.

Shandrak was walking through the crowded city of Halpergrad, the capital city of all the Passatwar colonies and worlds, thinking all the time what these Humans could do to them or any race, not realizing the Humans were already preparing for this possible outcome. Shandrak didn't take in the view like he normally did when he was planet side and especially for his rare visits to Halpergrad. He walked straight past the guards to the great council chamber, only saluting when he was passed them and realizing he had upset them. He was more concerned with the findings he had from this first contact.

As he entered the chamber, he was shocked to see not one but forty-five Guardians, all in their encounter suits, of course.

"Greetings, Shandrak, and welcome back from your first contact" said Storvell, the head of the Passatwar council.

"What are these Humans like? Do they look like us or do we have more of the other races that resemble our appearance now?" asked Tangril, the head of Intelligence.

"I think they are barbarians who found a metal sword and used it to steal what they have. So, yes I think we should send more scouts to look them over" replied Shandrak.

"Children, they came here to look for you and your answer was to meet them with weapons. My children, you have failed us and with that you have failed life itself. Have you forgotten all that we taught you so long ago? If you would like, we could travel to their home world and speak to their leaders and see what they want. However, if you feel that they are such a threat, then maybe that was due to you making them feel like you might kill them." said the lead Guardian Tranzkhan.

"We will obey and follow as always, Lord Tranzkhan. You brought us here and here we have been; all alone in the night at the edge of the universe, where all things must venture sooner or later" replied Shandrak.

"Good, my child. You have not forgotten everything we taught you after all" stated Tranzkhan. That statement sent the room into silence.

"We have returned as promised. Our job is harder now to do, with us being so far away. Shandrak you must know their leader saw greatness in you in the way you tried to save the Ikarians" informed Tranzkhan in a warm and friendly tone.

"Tranzkhan, I sensed great danger in their minds. We should make ready to engage them" replied Shandrak before he had a chance to finish.

"Tranzkhan, they have learned to mistrust people on first encounters, as they have been attacked on all but two of them and one of them they had weapons lock. We have been watching this race. My council always thought it would have been the Minbari that came looking for you and then you might have started a war. These Humans mean you no harm. Open your mind to me, child, and I will show you all that you need to know and some of what you don't need to know" instructed Tranzkhan.

Moments later, Shandrak was on the floor, being overwhelmed by the images he was getting from Tranzkhan.

"Shandrak, you can stand. I've slowed the amount of information I am sending to you. Only you and I can hear us now" informed Tranzkhan.

"Where are we?" asked Shandrak.

"This place is the void where we and other first ones go to see what we wish. They use machines to look in it. We the Guardians can enter through thought as can the Speakers. They are Lorien's race" replied Tranzkhan.

"What are you going to show me, Master?" asked Shandrak in a worried tone.

"The things that make you worry so much. Right now the Humans have started to salvage your ships, only to see what chance they have against you, due to your visible distrust of them. Marshal Davidson, the one you spoke to, was what the Humans call a PSI 40. Did you know that? There was a PSI 50 there too. They had passed your mental defenses with such ease that you may cause a war that they didn't come for" replied Tranzkhan.

"Master, if I may say, that proves that I was right. However, I was told by the Vorlons that no race had a stronger PSI strength than our own race. We are a PSI level 25" said Shandrak in a puzzled and confused tone.

"Well, child, that I will show you now. The person we are looking at is their leader and no doubt he will know we are watching him. He always knows. Go ahead and talk to him. He can hear you. Antony, can hear me talking about you?" asked Tranzkhan.

"Greetings, and welcome to the Royal Palace on Earth. If I'm not mistaken, you have brought a Passatwar to speak to me and not just anyone. You brought Shandrak, their military leader" observed His Royal Highness, King Antony.

"But how can you know we are here watching you, child?" demanded Shandrak.

"My PSI rating is so high it's off the scale. I was touching the minds of the crews of my ships in your Galaxy when you turned up, so I hid in the shelter. I know a lot about you. I read many files regarding you that I made classified. You like to fight the one we call the Shadows and their allies, as do we. Is that not enough to start the branch of friendship? Shandrak, one last thing: don't try and attack my ships. You will lose, even though you have great numbers and strength of weapons." said King Antony.

"What do you mean we would lose? And now you give me threats! I should put you to the test and burn your ships in the void between Universes" replied Shandrak. Tranzkhan started to laugh knowing what could happen here.

"My dear Shandrak, we would simply burn out your minds and kill your crew. That's why I advised you not to attack them" replied Antony. Antony walked over and picked up his staff and tapped it on the floor four times. An image of the possible battle came to view, filling the full room.

"Can you both see? Now look at your worlds at that moment. They opened up their minds to something that should never happen. I sent all my first jump mission crew to your galaxy as they were old, but yet still vibrant alive. Yes, my people know what happened, but it's not their fault that their bodies were inundated with my DNA and my nanites that make me immortal and a techno-mage" stated King Antony as he closed down the image.

"Those ships crews are all filled with people who have some or even all of your abilities. Then they or mages to or some and those will be enough to make us useless against them" replied Shandrak in shock and amazement at the same time.

"Now you have seen, but do you believe what you have seen?" asked Tranzkhan. Shandrak started to nod, knowing and seeing the fate of his people.

"Don't worry Shandrak. Only one of us knows they can do that. She would have given the order to do it, but even she won't. Marshal Yetta Von-der-tan is the commander of that expedition. All they seek is an area where we can build a royal estate for me to go to when I need rest. That was our other mission there" informed King Antony.

"There are enough systems there that we pulled away from centuries ago. They all have cities and some amazing buildings that you can class as Palaces. I will go and see your expedition and welcome them as friends. I will explain. It will be the truth that we have long since forgotten how to talk to strangers. I will inform my government to send ships to our home galaxy and watch for the coming Dark ones and the dreaded Allies" explained Shandrak.

"It's time to take you back home, child. We will all see each other one day in another century. So long, my children" Tranzkhan started to smile and pulled away from the Royal Palace on Earth with his mind and brought them back to their physical bodies.

A few seconds later, Shandrak started to blink and move his arms around. The council was shocked but glad to see their military commander was OK.

"Now Shandrak, what do you have to say now?" asked the Passatwar Leader, Ventdral.

"Honored council members, I have to say my eyes have been opened. I can see I was wrong and the mistrust I sensed was due to me. These Humans have had bad experiences with first contact and I didn't help matters" explained Shandrak.

"Yes, but what do you think?" asked Ventdral in a stronger and demanding manner.

"They mean us no harm, and we should allow them to settle in this galaxy. We one day may need strong friends to help protect us" replied Shandrak, who surprised their entire council to his changed manner.

"If that is the case and soon it will be our Maker's day, then we should send these Humans a gift. They are so far from their home. We will make for them a hyper jump gate. We will need to see the speed in which their ships can travel so we can adjust it especially for their ships. Plus send a team to help build a new ship using their and our technology as this will give us an idea of how advanced they are compared to us" replied Ventdral.

"With what I saw of their technology, they are not far behind us and what I saw in their minds they have the ships that were left behind on Ikara all those years ago" replied Shandrak

"If that is the case, we should teach them how to make ships like it by copying that design if we are to pass on what we know then we have to start now" replied Ventdral.

"Why you are here Tranzkhan? Can you help us? Our people can no longer reproduce and even the younger ones of our race wish to know why you allowed this to happen" asked Gransdal, the council science and medical advisor.

"Well children, when you were affected by the Shadow plague, some of you took the antidote. When free from the disease, those that took the antidote found that it rendered them sterile. That you already knew, but when you live a long time, that antidote would have an unusual effect. Some of you will still be fertile, but others won't be. You will have to search out a way to cure yourselves. These Humans many hold the key to your problems. After all, you were made from their DNA as well as from four other races. Ask them for their help. You never know. They just might say yes" advised Tranzkhan. He then turned away and looked at the other guardians present.

The Guardians all started to move to the doors. It wasn't until the council asked where they were heading when they stopped and turned and replied "We are heading to our diplomatic building, if it's still there, to see what we can do to help you. But we will not cure you; that is your job. We will ask for the information we need when we get settled in our building" said Tranzkhan. Then the guardians continued to leave the room and headed to their Diplomatic building. Tranzkhan stopped in his tracks and slowly turned and smiled. "There are the other races that make up your full council of ten. You must tell them of the visitors from their home Galaxy. If you had told them about your troubles, they might have been able to help you" stated Tranzkhan.

The Passatwar council was astonished yet again and this time by the race they thought wouldn't or couldn't shock them. Gransdal looked at them and laughed.

"Tranzkhan has proven I have been right all these years and we must tell the other councilors of our plight. All of the races present in this Galaxy were created by the First Ones. The only races to remain behind are those that were made for a single purpose" stated Gransdal.

"Yes we know this, but if they think we are dying out, they might strike at us. After all, they were created to either fight or infiltrate, so we should show caution" replied Fangtol, the covert intelligence leader.

"Fangtol, you have a nerve to say that. It's your fault that the Ikarians started to mistrust us and allowed the Shadows into their mind" stated Ventdral.

"Enough of this infighting. To sort our people out we must have clarity. Yes, it has taken us a long time to get to the point where we must hope to find a cure. If not, we will be a dead race yet again. For I'm just one voice among many. I won't allow that to happen again. If I thought these Humans had a key to our plight, I would have asked them" Stated Shandrak with such commanding authority it stopped everyone from objecting. Even the Guardians stayed a little longer to see the end of that speech, and then departed for their diplomatic office.

Fangtol was not happy that Shandrak raked up his failures of those many years ago.

"Well then, if you think these Humans might have a clue, then I will send an agent with you when you go and invite them to a galaxy council meeting. There you will tell them that we protect every race here. That is your job as Military leader" stated Fangtol. The look on Ventdral's face was enough to stop Fangtol from continuing in his rant.

"Enough! I won't have this, Fangtol. Yes, Shandrak, you will go see these Humans and take who and what you think is best for the role of supporting you in your mission" ordered Ventdral.

HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANY TYPE OF FEED BACK GOOD OR BAD.

HOPE YOU LIKED MY WAY OF KEEPING THE IKARIANS AROUND.

SPOILER ALERT: YOU WILL SEE RACES THAT HAD BEEN KILLED OFF OR DIED OFF IN BABYLON 5'S REAL TIME LINE WHO ARE STILL AROUND IN MY UNIVERSE.

THANKS TO MY BETA FOR MAKING MY STOREY READABLE AND FOR ALL HER HARD WORK SUSAN HILTON.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Four

The Coming of the Shadows

Back on Earth, his Majesty was sitting at his grand desk in his office, going over the final parts of his daily duties, when his private com channel came to life.

"Your Majesty, I'm very sorry to disturb you so late, but I have my first report for you" announced the voice of Marshal Yetta Von-der-tan.

"That's all right, Yetta. I would love to see your report, as always" replied His Majesty.

"Sire, I can report that we made contact with the Passatwar. I'm glad you sent the hardware you did with us. I can see it was needed. I've ordered Marshal Rickman to start to produce defense stations and extra construction yards. My instincts are telling me that we scared them and they are afraid that the Dark Ones will find them here" reported Yetta, pausing and seeing that ever present glint in His Majesty's eyes when he had a question.

"Well Yetta, you just have to be kind to them and allow them to learn to trust us. I hope that all of our entire knowledge base was sent with you. Let them read it. It might either scare them into trusting you or it could scare them into attacking you. Either way, make ready. At the moment I can't spare any more ships than what we have. We have mastered cloning. You have plenty of DNA if it turns ugly, but please stay safe. I would hate to inform Earth Gov that we were at war and I was leading another war from the frontlines again. You know how much they hate me for that style of leadership" said Yetta with a smirk, making him read what was between the lines.

"Rickman has already launched five fully automated Nova MK2 class cruiser squadrons. Their job is to patrol the areas that we would love to control as they have no present life readings. They are still well inside the areas that Shandrak told us we could set up your Royal estate. On the data we have at hand Sire the Royal Estate will be larger than the Alliance borders back home" informed Yetta.

"Ouch and well done Yetta. It looks like that Galaxy might hold some nice gems for us; that is if it's safe to spread into those said areas. Make sure they have a scout team sent to each system and mark them for defense, construction, colonization or all of the above" replied His Majesty.

The communication started to go all garbled "Computer, identify the cause of problems in this transmission" asked His Majesty.

"There is an unclassified form of stellar interference of an unknown type" replied the computer after analyzing the problem for a few minutes.

"Computer, log this stellar interference and start recording all transmissions coming in from that Galaxy, even if they are not to me personally" ordered His Majesty with concern.

Storvell stood up and bowed to the Passatwar council.

"I must take my leave and head to the Council of Ten meeting. I just hope they will trust us enough to help us" stated Storvell in a worried and stressed voice.

Ventdral looked at Storvell.

"You have permission to leave and let's hope you have the wisdom to set this mistake right."

Storvell walked into the Council of Ten chambers, looked around, and thought how dreary this place was and how it needed to be brought into the modern style of decorating. She took her seat in the centre of the very long stone table. The First to enter was a male called Trashmal, a Hyach-do.

"Greetings Trashmal, and welcome to the Council chambers. It's been such a long time since our last meeting" said Storvell pleasantly.

"Yes it's been too long since the last meeting. You still look as young as ever" replied Trashmal.

Before they had any chances to catch up, the next member, Lady Gamlort of the Ikarians entered, closely followed by both Lord Trakmos the Xon member and Major Morook, a female Neanderthal. They both were chatting away like there was no tomorrow, catching up on everything they missed out on.

In walked the final five members all whispering among themselves, trying to figure out what the meeting was all about. There was Jubdi, a female Varnsak, who was talking with Helgomati, a female Belrakian. There was aksi Shanalla who was a female Ralgan, who was in deep conversation with Tralace, a male Taratimude and Shanque, a male J'Lai. They were all council members and all were wondering why they hadn't been informed of the reason for this out of the blue meeting.

Storvell was looking at the last members entering and quietly greeted those who came in before them.

"Please, council members, can you take your seats? We have much to discuss and we don't have a lot of time" said Storvell in a rather commanding voice that he rarely used. "Greetings, everyone. We have two major things to bring to the table this day. First is that our Galaxy has got several visitors at the moment in numerous locations. The second is we, the Passatwar people, need your help." The council members looked at him with astonishment but remained silent. One finally spoke.

"Storvell, whatever your people need us to help your people with, we will put our combined governments at your calling" said Morook.

"My friends, you all know that we cured the Dark Ones disease, but the cure came with a side effect. If we can't counter the disease fully, we will have no more children born to carry on our species' name. So for all intended purposes, the Passatwar is a dead race" stated Storvell in a pleading and somber voice.

" Storvell, we can bring a smile back to your face on that. We have known for some time about it. All medical records can be looked into at any time. While during a brief search for the cure to Hazmartelz syndrome for the Taratimude, we came across the problem you are having" replied Jubdi.

"With this discovery, we found that both diseases were of the same origin: a nanite virus. After several months of intensive studies, we should be close now to test the data" announced Morook.

"We are still surprised that you didn't ask for our help sooner, but you should also thank your very own government, council member Fangtol. Originally, it was he who told us to look in the files. We did and came up with so many answers. Did you know that the cure you used was very close to the full outright cure? You will be astounded for centuries, working out the answer to that problem" replied Jubdi.

"What you're telling me is that in searching for a cure for Hazmartelz syndrome with our advanced work centuries ago that we couldn't see anything else in it that worked. However, we did build a standard building block from where you found many answers and that also helped us" replied Storvell.

"Yes, your scientists got that close to it. If a stranger worked along side you at that time, they might have seen the light where your people only saw shadows and blackness. However, the work your people did is really mind blowing. We take our hats off to them" replied Trashmal.

"Now enough of this. We can mull over how we managed that, but I'm more concerned about the visitors our galaxy has now. What our Passatwar friends wish to tell us in this meeting about them brings a lot of fear to the surface" stated Morook, the council second.

"Well everyone, we had our concerns about them and the guardians put us right. They showed Shandrak that they mean us no harm."

"Storvell, if you or a member of your government's council has spoken to them, tell us who they are and what they are doing here" demanded Trakmos.

"All we know for now is that they have a foothold and we have given them the areas of our first colonies and their surrounding areas. We also know they came from our home galaxy; the galaxy where each and every one of us were either wiped out or forced to flee and with the help of the Guardians and brought here to our new homes" replied Storvell.

"If you know that much, then name the species" demanded Trakmos again, fearing that it might be the Centauri hunting them down.

"Trakmos, it's not the Centauri. They are called Humans" stated Storvell. A shocked Morook froze, thinking was it a joke.

"You did just say Humans, didn't you Storvell?" asked Morook.

"Yes,Morook they are Humans, and yes they came from what they call Earth, your home world. We have all their recorded history, although they have no recorded information about your people. It was a great mystery to some of them where you went and others do not even know of your existence" replied Storvell. Morook looked stunned.

"I know they used to hunt us down like animals, or so our history states, but the Guardians claim it was a war and that they saved us from extinction. They also claimed that both our races were needed for the future of all life" Before she had a chance to say anything more, the Chamber doors opened and in floated a Guardian in a standard encounter suit.

"It looks like all the roads have finally caught up with everyone. Do I have the Council's permission to speak to you all?" asked this unknown Guardian.

"Of course, Guardian and welcome to our chambers. Why do you honor us with your presence on this fine day?" asked Morook.

"This is the time and place I should be here. Why and how is yet to be seen" replied the Guardian cryptically.

"I would swear that your language is like a riddle. I would love to see a race that fully understands you" replied Storvell.

The council chamber screen came to life. Shandrak appeared on the main viewing screen.

"We have detected what we believe to be three Shadow Battle crabs and they are moving towards one of the Neanderthal colonies. These Humans claim to be enemies of the Shadows. I say let them go. Their ships are closer than ours and they seem to have fast drives as well" said Shandrak in a very happy and surprised tone of voice. Morook looked and laughed.

"So you think our ships can't deal with just three Shadow Battle crabs? But we all know you and so I'm thinking you want to see how good their ships do in battle, just in case we are wrong " conjectured Morook in a tone she had when trying to make someone look foolish.

"Yes Morook, that is the whole point and your Government has already sent an envoy to meet the Humans. We just pointed some of their ships in the direction of the Shadow ships and the Humans destroyed them with ease" reported Shandrak.

"Yes, but what you have failed to see is that these Humans brought the Shadows with them or they were followed" insisted Shanque.

"Yes, I'm forced to agree with Shanque" stated Tralace.

"Gentle beings, I can inform you that we have been watching those ships for several months. That's how we found the human expedition with such ease. The Shadow vessels were found long before we sighted the Human vessels. They were traveling at a much faster speed than that of the Shadow class ships. Also, their central point is just outside our Galaxy. They arrived at least seven weeks after we located them" said Shandrak.

"Then why wait so long to make first contact with this central site location?" replied Trashmal.

"That's a very fine and well weighted question. If I didn't know better, I would say you thought us to be cowards. The answer is simple. We studied them with covert sensors that we hoped they couldn't detect so we could gather more information about them. However when we sighted a smaller team at our arrival to the planet, we sent our military leader there to see what he thought of them. He mistrusts his very own shadow since the betrayal all those years ago on Ikara. However a Guardian showed him his errors and he said they meant us no harm, and that I have to believe" replied Storvell.

"Storvell, what did the guardian show Shandrak?" Asked Helgomati, who had been sitting in silence up to that moment, taking in all sides of the conversation.

"That's a very good question, and one that I can't answer this day. I left the council meeting before Shandrak had fully recovered and informed the council" replied Storvell in her now standard honest tone the council loved her for.

Fleet Admiral Trance was sitting aboard the EAS Avenger, thinking he had some great friends and how much this promotion meant to him. Even with what Marshal Von-der-tan was saying to him about how only His Majesty can promote people to Marshal, they had other Royal Members along who had that authority.

"Avenger battle group, form up on my lead Novas. Keep close. We have four at least Shadow warships in this area. Bring the primary plasma anti matter pulse cannons on line and charge particle ion cannons" Ordered Fleet Admiral Trance. "Bridge set course for the Shadow ships, maximum intercept, and inform the fleet to keep up. Have the pilots ready to launch as well."

"Sir, we will have interception in T minus three minutes" reported the helm officer.

"Good. I want to see what these weapons will do to these Shadows. I only wish I was around Earth when the war erupts with them" replied Rear Commodore Steven Sherman, the new executive officer of the EAS Avenger.

"Don't worry, Steven. This will be short and fast, but they will know they won't have a chance when dealing with our ships" replied Trance in a very confidant tone.

"Sir, the Shadow vessels have seen us and have turned to intercept us. They have launched fighters" reported Commander Jenkins, the new sensor officer.

"I know many of you have been on other ships and with my sudden promotion and change in ships, my style of fighting may scare some of you. Just trust me. I've been around a long time and I personally trained with His Majesty" said Trance to the Bridge crew. That brought a smile to all their faces.

"CAG, it's time. Launch all fighters. Com Officer, inform the fleet to launch all fighters. Let's show them fear as we only carry the Royal Tiger Starfurys" Ordered Trance in such a way it brought a sudden awe to the bridge crew. "Weapons tell me when they are in Particle Ion cannon range only and keep the Primary weapons fully charged. I don't want to give away our ace in the hole just yet."

"Sir, the CAG says all tigers have been launched and are moving towards the enemy vessels at third acceleration" announced the Com Officer.

"Also, sir, all weapons are now within firing range of the enemy Capital vessels" reported the sensor officer. Trance smiled at hearing the great news.

"Excellent. The boys back home got it right. Our weapons do outrange them. Trance to Tiger: if you have a weapons lock on their fighters, please fire a full volley, then accelerate to top speed, break off, take cover behind us and fire at will. Well boys and girls, it's time to see what we can do. Fire the particle ion cannons only at their main ships. Transfer all hyperspace generators to ship's shields and brace for impacts. If the initial spread doesn't take them all out, fire the main guns and turn those ships into a debris field."

All the Earth ships opened fire at the same time. The Shadow Fighters that had closed the distance were still just outside their weapons range when the Earth ships started to fire on them. The Shadow fighters started to return fire straight away, but only a handful of weapons fire got through the vast Earth volley. The Earth ships were now destroying the Shadow fighters in droves. By the time the Shadow fighter weapons fire reached the Earth ships, all the fighters had been destroyed. "Trance to fleet: full ahead. I want to close that range and all primary weapons systems. FIRE!" shouted Trance.

At the same time he gave the order, every single Earth ship fired two high energy Plasma Anti Matter pulse blasts. That was more than enough to destroy the Shadow Ships. They just wanted to show them what they were facing if they turned their eyes towards Earth. The Four Shadow ships tried to avoid the weapons blast with some very sharp and tight maneuvers. That did nothing other than send them into cross fire from other ships. The first Shadow ship was hit and started to spin away, only to be hit by thirteen more full direct hits. The other three Shadow ships lasted only a few seconds longer. None of them had a chance to return fire. Soon all the ships were destroyed.

"This is Marshal Rickman to Fleet Admiral Trance. Good shooting and return to port for debriefing. You have another mission and your fleet has a new mission too. See you back at Tidestone. Command out" The transmission ended.

"Fleet, this is Trance. Let's bring the Vortex generators on line and stand by to jump to hyperspace. We have been ordered back to the Tidestone. Well done all ships. Trance out." The channel was closed straight away. "Well Steven looks like you owe me a week's wage. Those drone ships saved us a lot of lives today. I'm glad we have them" said an impressed Trance.

"Sir, we have a fleet wide order to jump to hyperspace and we have a confirmation on a course setting for the Tidestone" announced the Comm Officer.

"All ships jump to hyperspace and stay in battle formation for our journey back to the Tidestone. There could be more of those pesky Shadow ships around and I don't want to test them in Hyperspace yet. Fleet, start deploying sensor probes in hyperspace" ordered Trance. Trance looked at Steven and Steven knew what was up.

"I know, sir. We don't have the hyperspace marking probes for star systems. I bet that would mark your test flight" replied Sherman with a cat that swallowed the canary look on his face.

Thirty minutes later, the Avenger fleet was nearly at the battle cruiser Tidestone's location.

"Trance to Fleet: make ready to return to normal space. Well done on the sensor net we've set up. That will give the Tidestone some early warning now. Have all breakables stored away. We jump in T minus forty seconds" ordered Trance in his now calming voice. The helm officer of the Avenger started the countdown aloud. All ships started to form jump points and moved in to the now named Tidestone system. Even though it was an artificial system, it had as much traffic as a major natural star system, including Earth.

"Sir, we have Tidestone command and control on the link for you" announced the Comm officer.

"Well done, Trance. You weren't taking any prisoners in that have to thank the Passatwar for that kill, and in total fairness to you and Shandrak. He requested that you deal with the Shadows to see how we could defeat them" said Marshal Rickman.

"You blew them away like your life depended on it" stated Princess Tzu-Yung.

"Thank you, your Royal Highness, and thank you, Marshal Rickman. It means a lot to me to get such high praise from you both" replied Admiral Trance.

"Trance, before I forget, there is a gathering aboard the station. All senior officers must be present and we won't take no for an answer. You're the guest of honor" requested Marshal Rickman as a slight order, reminding Trance that he was still his direct commanding officer.

Princess Tzu-Yung was walking around her state room, trying to get some good ideas on what to wear for that evening's banquet. There was a knock at the door. In walked Princess Tzu-Yung's hand maiden.

"Thank God you're here, Rebecca. I don't know what to wear, and I really want to catch the eyes of a certain Admiral" stated Tzu-Yung.

"Well your highness, that's very easy. You will want something that captures his attention. Why not that light blue dress; the one with gold and red dragons on it? If that doesn't catch his eye, he's not straight" Replied Rebecca in a rather teasing way.

"You are right, Rebecca. Who in their right mind would refuse to take their eyes off me wearing that dress? Now I want it in a color that would set off my eyes more" Demanded Tzu-Yung.

"I will sort your shoes out now and I will get your hair stylist for you. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Asked Rebecca in a kind but nervous tone, hoping she would be allowed to leave the room.

"No, as always Rebecca, you have calmed me down. What would I do with out you?" Replied Tzu-Yung. Then Rebecca took a small bow and started to head to the door to get the hair stylist for her Highness.

Three hours later, Princess Tzu-Yung Khan was being escorted into the great hall aboard the Tidestone. Every guest stood at attention, waiting for her to take her seat. She passed by people she knew were those who wished her well and slowed her pace at the head of the table. Every now and then, Princess Tzu-Yung looked up to the main table to see if Admiral Trance had noticed her. The first time she looked up, she saw that he was looking at her with his jaw was gaping open. That brought a smile and a little blush to her face.

After a few minutes she arrived at the head of the table and sat beside the man, who was still gaping at her. She looked over at him and smiled. "Greetings, Admiral Trance. How do you like being the centre of so much attention?" asked Her Royal Highness in a child-like flirting way.

"I'm not used to such fanfare any more. Being a mere fleet Captain for so long, I truly forgot what it means to have meals in one's name. For the other part there is only one person in the room I can't take my eyes off of" replied Admiral Trance, staring at this vision of loveliness beside him.

Princess Tzu-Yung leaned in close to Admiral Trance and whispered. "Please tell me who that might be"

"If I must tell you, madam, it is you. You look amazing and are the only true jewel out there, but am I not too old for you?" replied Trance in a very teasing way.

At the foot of the table Marshal Rickman's com link came to life. Seconds later, he touched his ear.

"Sir, I'm very sorry for disturbing you, but we have picked up a strange reading in hyperspace and it's registering as fifteen Shadow Vessels. They are heading straight for us" gasped the duty watch officer.

"Launch all fighters and patrol craft. If Her Highness notices them and asks what is going on, inform her that they are out in her honor and that of the evening. After all, it's a military celebration. I will try and inform Admiral Trance as well at some point during the meal. How long do we have till they arrive in the system?" asked Rickman in a semi stressed tone of voice.

"ETA is no less than five hours sir. We have hyperspace patrols sending out scout probes as well. Sir, even the Passatwar and several of this Galaxy's powers have asked via the Passatwar if we need help" replied the duty watch officer.

"Send this reply: Thank you for your kind offer, but we will be able to deal with this problem, end quote. Make sure we have more Heavy Plasma Anti Matter defense satellites deployed in time. If we can deploy two hundred an hour, it will make this place formidable" replied Rickman as an order.

"Now, Marshal there is no work now. It's time for pleasure, unless there is something you're not telling me. I hate secrets, but I should know better than to try and scan a military mind. They're too well focused, even during sleep. I've tried." stated Her Royal Highness.

"No ma'am, there is no problem. I was just making ready for a lot of fly bys from fighters all the way up to patrol ships. I even tried to get the EAS Princess Tzu-Yung Khan in the system, but I don't know when it will arrive, your Highness" answered Marshal Rickman in a sly fashion.

"The EAS Princess Tzu-Yung Khan? I've never heard of it, Marshal. How come it's a ship I don't recall? I like to know the name of all the ships and officers" asked Her Highness only guessing that if she didn't change the subject fast, the main surprise would be blown away because of her. Her father would kill her if she ruined his plans for the evening.

"Yes ma'am, you are quite correct. The ship is under construction and will be undergoing weapons testing and engine testing very soon" replied Marshal Rickman.

"See I knew you were keeping something from me all day. You know, Marshal, you're the best liar I have ever met" replied Princess Tzu-Yung smiling as she spoke.

The meal and dance were going really well. The music being played by the orchestra was liked by everyone. It was just before the main meal was to be served when Her Highness informed the speaker that she had something to say. "Greetings one and all and welcome to the splendid party. The reason for the party will be a surprise to many, but we are in fact here to congratulate Fleet Admiral Trance on a job well done. However, that is just part of tonight's fanfare. They are also giving me great honor tonight. If you please rise, Fleet Admiral Trance; I am promoting you to the rank that should be yours by right. My Great Uncle and Our Highness King Antony wishes to give you the rank of Supreme Marshal, Second class. Congratulations, Supreme Marshal Trance. I have one final thing to do before the meal starts. There is an ancient Chinese custom where the Emperor would display the reward before a task. In this case, the task was done before the reward was chosen. The reward, Marshal Trance, is my hand in marriage. You once bet my father that if you would ever become a Marshal, you would marry a daughter of his choice, and he chose me" stated Her Royal Highness, Princess Tzu-Yung.

Trance then leaned in, smiled, and kissed his fiance on the cheek and whispered "Talk about a shot gun proposal! However, I'm so glad it's you, Tzu-Yung"

"After seeing you on the journey here, my father made a joke to me and said I should get to know you as one day you would be my husband. He then laughed and told me to trust him on this" Replied Tzu-Yung.

"I have a gift in my quarters for tonight; a gift from your Great Uncle. He told me not to open it until tonight, as it would spoil the surprise" said Trance with a gleam in his eyes.

"I bet it's a ring for us. Father once lost a bet to my Great Uncle and it is coming true now. It was a daft bet. I can't remember the details, but the wager was the strangest. His whole family would take up the greatest honor he could bestow them and a daughter would marry into the navy."

While the party was going on, Marshal Von-der-tan arrived aboard her flagship EAS Von-der-tan class variant that was an enlarged Throne Ship class vessel.

"Get my Transport ready and keep me up to date on the arrival time of those Shadow vessels. I want to make sure that we have enough juice in this system to smash them into the Stone Age."

"Sir, your transport is prepped and the EAS Tidestone has been informed of our arrival. They are not allowed to disturb anyone" reported the com officer of the EAS Von-der-tan.

Yetta approached her transport, looked at the crew and saluted, as she moved to the office area of her state room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a short journey today, but we have the Supreme military commander for this galaxy on board. Take to your seats and buckle yourselves in. We have a standard temperature outside of -19.7oC. If you have to leave the transport for what ever the reason, make sure you take your temperature controlled space suit. Can all passengers please return to your seats? We are about to enter the space dock. We will be landing in T minus ten minutes. As flight prankster today, I would like to hope I'm not causing an earache for Marshal Von-der-tan and hope you enjoyed your in flight entertainment."

"Wow, he sure knows how to make a short flight interesting. The last short flight I had was one poor joke after another. I had him transferred to Centauri Prime to show them what happens to idiots who think they're funny. Computer, end report and send a copy to Earth, care of His Majesty, King Antony's office" ordered Von-der-tan. "Yetta to bridge. Thanks for the in flight entertainment. We have to work on what you can do to make it funnier next time. However, that was amazing. If you improve that for my return journey, you can name your own reward … within reason."

The party was starting to draw to a close and Princess Tzu-Yung was having the last dance of the evening. Marshal Von-der-tan walked in and walked straight up to the dancing couple.

"Well, it looks like I missed the grand proposal. Your father and uncle have been telling me for some time about the outcome of their bets. His Majesty always seems to put a bet on that in all odds would fail. When he does bet, they always come true. God knows how he does it, but he somehow always knows."

They both looked at her with puzzlement in their eyes and they were wondering what brought her to Tidestone.

"Yetta, how does it feel now that I'm once again your first officer?"asked Graham Trance, now the second in command on all military matters.

"Well,Graham, I can tell you now that you're still in the military because of two people who well used every favor going to keep you on the books. That's His Majesty and me. We both knew it wasn't your fault, and I only wish now we had gone looking for the Drakh and smashed them into powder."

"So I've had the best two people in my corner, covering me and helping me" said Trance in a shocked tone of voice.

"I wouldn't say the best two people, my love. You have had our whole family's support all the time. The Khan Royal house members are more loyal to King Antony than most would believe and that is why we have been sent here. Not as outcasts, but to run the Royal Estate. That is the Royal position as yours, my love and Yetta here" said Princess Tzu-Yung Khan.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but my mission here is to help defend the Tidestone from what we thought were fifteen Shadow ships. They have turned out to be sixty ships, plus fighters. They came in from another galaxy that is much closer to them than our home galaxy. So normally we would smash them as our weapons should be capable of taking on four ships. We have a lot more fire power and ships for that, hint, hint. New Marshal in the house, huge hint" joked Yetta.

"So we are making a stand here in this location" replied Trance.

"Trance, my friend, we have placed more defense satellites than you would think possible. We have kept the party going longer and harder than we had planned. All the duty officers left, claiming they had early shifts. They don't. They are aboard their ships now, making a net for our party poopers to fly into" informed Yetta.

"How many satellites have been placed during the party may I ask, Yetta?" asked Princess Tzu-Yung.

"Rickman ordered two hundred to be placed every hour. However I countermanded that order and placed a thousand an hour in hyperspace, off the beacons that we placed while on route" explained Yetta.

"Why do I think you're telling us they are following the beacon system we used to get here so we wouldn't get lost?" asked Princess Tzu-Yung.

"No, she can't be right. Tell me she's wrong" demanded Trance.

"I'm so very sorry. Tzu-Yung is correct. We have caused them problems. Yes, there are now six thousand plasma anti matter pulsed heavy satellites in hyperspace. We also placed a further eighteen thousand in this system as well, making this a very safe place to be. However, you two, I believe you're on the wrong ship. Head to docking station Alpha One or Alpha Two. They will lead you to the right ship. It's your new command ship, Graham: the EAS Princess Tzu-Yung Khan. It's a sister ship to mine and you know what she can do" said Yetta in a jovial way.

"Yetta, our probes have the Shadow ships approaching. They will be in system shortly. I've ordered all construction ships to leave the area at once and for them to deploy their escort screen for extra defense in case we fail" informed Rickman.

"Good idea. Make sure they stay in normal space till they have entered hyper space. They can flee there in safety" advised Yetta.

"Sirs, we have confirmation that the heavy defense satellites have started to fire into the Shadow fleet. The sheer volume of plasma anti matter pulses have caught them by surprise. They have lost half their fighters; maybe more and six battle crabs and several others have taken heavy damage. They're phasing into normal space to avoid the hyperspace defense grid" reported Rickman as both Yetta and Graham started to run for the command ships as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Yetta to personal transport: get ready. When I board, launch and please no in flight entertainment. We will be flying into a hot zone. Transfer my signal to my flagship please, Captain. This is Marshal Von-der-tan. Move forward and fire on any enemy vessel that moves and destroy everything. Yetta out."

"This is Rickman to all gunners: take out their capital ships and put me through to fighter command now" ordered Rickman. "To all fighters: your pulse anti matter cannons seem to be very deadly to their ships. While our other weapons have limited effect against them, fire and run take down their fighters. Then sweep their capital ships away at your pleasure" Ordered Rickman, all the time wondering where his support was from the two Enlarged Throne Ships.

"This is Trance to bridge. Get us into that battle now. They need our weapons. Charge shields and all weapons; we start firing on the closest enemy ship, no matter its size. Understand?"

"Orders understood. We have cleared docking and are moving to docking doors that have started to open. We will have space under us in no time sir" reported Captain Shorthouse.

"Good, Captain. You have your orders. I'm on the way to the bridge now, so make sure we are still in the fight when I get there as I would hate to command my ships first battle from corridors and lifts" stated Trance with a little smile.

"Tzu-Yung, you have to promise me when you get to the bridge you will keep out of harms way. I would hate to lose you, especially as we haven't even set a day for our wedding" said Trance gently to his fiance.

"Well we can talk about that after you save all of our lives, even though I know we are taking a very small part in the action" replied Tzu-Yung. The doors flung open and they were on the bridge in the middle of a fire fight.

"All particle cannons, fire into that approaching battle crab and turn it into a debris field now!" ordered Trance as he walked onto the bridge, causing a few heads to pivot. "People keep your stations. We have a fight to win. Damage report for us and the rest of the fleet and how's Tidestone holding up?" inquired Trance.

"We have zero loss of life and ships. They have three ships left… make that two… and they seem to be on a ramming course for us" said the sensor officer tensely.

"Extend shields to maximum range and bring reserve, back ups, auxiliary and secondary shields and power systems on line. Then fire all available weapons on my mark. All weapons FIRE!" shouted Trance and with a couple of bright explosions going off in front of them, the battle was over.

Trance looked around to see if his Princess was all right. She was sitting at a station smiling at him as if he was the only one in the room. "Com, get me Marshal Von-der-tan and get me fleet wide I want to know what the costs were now" asked Trance in a stern but royal tone of voice. The screen flashed to life and Yetta was on the screen laughing.

"You've got the fleet running around in circles here. I can stand back and let you do some work again" suggested Yetta with a smile.

"I want to make sure that I don't like failure and this was a great chance to test our weapons and some of our theories against the Shadows. It looks like the Kirish Lords were right on the mark when they told us which weapons were best and which should not be used" replied Trance.

"Trance" The sound of his name coming from the speaker shut both Yetta and Graham up. "This is Rickman. What did you think of your ship in battle and is it what you were expecting from a flagship?"

Yetta was looking a little weary from being up for now close onto eighty hours without sleep. Still, she tried to maintain her duties, until she fell asleep in her command chair on the bridge. She was awakened with a massive start as the ships automated klaxons sounded and forced people to general quarters and brought the EAS Von-der-tan to yellow alert.

"Report, people. What's got us running at yellow alert?" asked Yetta, still trying to pull herself together from her short cat nap.

"Sorry, sir. We have eleven ships coming out of jump vortexes at the edge of the Tidestone System. They have hailed us and they have informed us that they represent the Council of Ten and the eleventh ship belongs to a race called the Guardians. They wish to converse with us and welcome us to their galaxy as friends and to all who fight the Dark ones."

"Com, send them a standard message, with our language files and inform them that they are welcome aboard the EAS Tidestone. Please send a copy to the marshals Trance and Rickman and request them to be ready for visitors" Ordered Von-der-tan. Yetta started to smile and looked around the bridge "It looks like we might have made some friends after all, people. Let's make ourselves look clean and tidy. I'm off to my quarters. Send me the ETA of their delegation so I'm not late" said Yetta as she was already heading to the bridge door to the lifts.

Meanwhile, at the same time on Minbar, Shandral had finally walked into the Grey Council knowing how long he had waited he was highly frustrated. "Enter and take the circle" said the Chosen One. "Tell us why you have demanded to see us and why it was so important" requested Tralvor, the chosen leader of the Grey Council. "We are waiting with the same impatience you showed us of late."

"I'm sorry, master, for my actions, but when I get worried as I am now I get angry and wish action could be taken sooner rather than later. The footage I sent you was given to me by Shai Alyt Branshan. It shows a large object heading to Shadow space. What worries me more than that is the news of the fall of the Centauri Republic to a child race. It has come to my attention that the large ship we saw was leaving the galaxy as it is leaving probes behind. Scans of the probes show them to be the same ones that are now being picked up from inside Centauri space" said Shandral.

"You wish us to believe that a child race can do this to the Centauri and at the same time build a ship large enough to leave our galaxy? They have the speeds that records show only the First Ones can do!" gasped one of the worker caste on the Grey Council.

"I'm sorry to say I do. If they are heading near to Za-ha-dum, then why haven't the races that now live there attacked that ship?"

"I'm sorry as well, but that is too much for me to take in at once. We must make our borders stronger. We must increase military spending to a point were it triples our present build orders" Demanded Shandral.

"Now you speak like a warrior, not a coward hiding behind a desk. You have grown weak. You have been heading the Warrior Caste now for too long, Shai Alyt. Do you wish to stand down and let a younger person take on your job?" asked the elder Warrior on the Grey Council in a mocking tone.

"Don't mock me elder, and no I don't want to step down. I would like to see the fool who would dare take it from me" growled Shandral.

"Enough!" said Tralvor. "If this race is as risky as you think, then we shall triple our military construction for fifteen years and only during that time. In that time it will replace the ships we will dispatch to follow those ships leaving our galaxy. On reading Branshan's report, I asked the Vorlons for some advice. They told me enough, and with that, I'm ordering Shai Alyt Branshan to take his full fleet and find out what we don't know. His orders are straight forward. The journey will take many years. We estimate it will take thirty years there and back" conjectured Tralvor.

"Master, when do you want Brashan's fleet to depart?" asked Shandral.

"They will leave as soon as the ships have been stocked with enough supplies for the journey. Plus we have already sent our full fleet of heavy freighters that are fifty percent faster than our Sharlin class. The Heavy Freighters will be used to scout ahead and start working on a supply depot. They were dispatched from Tir four days ago and they will remain in hyperspace for another ten days. Then they will create their first supply depot. With the aid of the Anlashok, they found the relay probes deployed by the Humans. With this we have targeted certain locations that will be used for supply depots" Reported Dralka, the longest serving member of the Grey Council.

"Now Shandral, we have much to talk about. You have tested our patience enough for today. You may leave and let us think on other matters instead of the end of the Federation for a change" Demanded Tralvor.

"Now it's time to meditate on the issues brought to us today and we will resume tomorrow to see if we can resolve Shandral's problems" Instructed Tralvor.

Back aboard the EAS Tidestone, the eleven diplomats were all being escorted into the central hall. Awaiting them were Princess Tzu-Yung Khan and several other Royals, who were close enough to make it in time. They included Marshals Von-der-tan, Trance and Rickman and several senior ranking Admirals.

"Well, everyone remember to be at their best behavior and don't be insulted if they try to scan you. Just remember your training and block them and return the favor" laughed Yetta Von-der-tan.

"Yetta, I remember a time when you used to hate first contact missions" Replied Trance.

"Who says I like them now? I just love it when a stranger tries to probe me" Replied Yetta, smiling as she said it.

In walked Commander Jenkins of the diplomatic office with a strange suited person at his side.

"Your Royal Highnesses and Military Officers, I bid you welcome to Yeltraz of the Guardians. I'm sorry to inform you that due to the environment she must remain in the encounter suit at all times" informed Commander Jenkins. Both Jenkins and Yeltraz both headed in the direction of Marshal Von-der-tan.

"Marshal Von-der-tan, may I have the honor in introducing you to Yeltraz of the Guardians. Yeltraz may I have the great honor of introducing you to our military leader Marshal Von-der-tan" stated Jenkins.

"It is an honor to be here on this new place you have made" stated Yeltraz.

"Yes, it's a guiding beacon for any others from Earth who wish to follow us here" replied Yetta. Both Jenkins and Yeltraz moved onto Princess Tzu-Yung and Marshal Trance.

The next group to enter the room was Commander Rogerson of the diplomatic office and what appeared to be something from Earth's very own past, a Neanderthal female.

"Your Royal Highnesses and Military Officers, I bid you welcome. Also I bid a warm welcome to Morook of the Neanderthalians. Yes, we both come from the same home system, but not same home world" Explained Rogerson, who just let get over her head. Marshal Rickman then walked over and started to chat with Morook.

"Greetings,Morook. My name is David Rickman and it's a great pleasure to meet you" bowed Rickman.

"I think it is I who is honored. I have heard many stories of the Human race, but not until now did I know the truth. My people were taught to be scared of Humans, but in fact Humans tried to help hide us from the Dark ones. They are the reason you can't find any of our kind on what you call Earth. Our home world is what your people call Mars. Earth and Venus were our only colonies, but they were destroyed by the Dark Ones because our race had mental abilities unrivalled until now" explained Morook.

"So you're telling us that the Shadows wiped you out because of your PSI ability? That explains some things then, like the fact that we thought your race was extinct and that you were stupid" replied David.

"What's wrong? Have I said something to upset you in any way? If I did, I didn't mean to" queried Morook.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I was thinking aloud. I didn't mean to offend you. Somehow we got it into our heads through the eons that Neanderthals were primitive, ape-like proto humans. I can see now that our scientists were grossly mistaken. Also, for over a hundred years now, the servants of the Shadows have tried to kill our king." replied David in an abashed tone.

"I see. I hope one day to meet your king to see how strong his mind is. I was glad to dispel the notion that we were inferior to you. It's been nice chatting. I'd better meet the others now as I believe Shanalla wishes to speak to you. She is very flirty when she sees what she likes, David" Replied Morook with a wink and a smile.

One by one the remaining council members entered the hall, being escorted by a member of the Earths' diplomatic office. As promised by Morook, Marshal Rickman was being pestered all night long. That brought a mischievous smile to Morook's face. They all came with very interesting stories of why they had to flee their home galaxy.

"Counselors, do you not think it's time we leave the Humans? Can you not see they are very tired and they have had a very hectic day?" advised Storvell, who herself didn't want to leave as they she was learning more about Humans and she was very impressed with what she saw.

"Storvell, do you think it's polite that we leave so soon? We have only been here a few hours and I still have much to say and find out and learn from my cousins" explained Morook ,winking at Marshal Rickman.

Morook was trying to work her way around the room in an indirect heading for Marshal Rickman, smiling to herself and wondering all the time if all humans had such mental strength like these did.

"Ah, Marshal Rickman I hope you haven't been trying to avoid me. I think we have much to talk about. First thing, David, do all humans have the mental strength you all have on board the Tidestone? I've been trying to scan each and every one of you and I can't breach your defenses" Asked Morook in a very worried way.

David shook his head and started to laugh. "I'm very sorry to tell you that the human race in general doesn't have any type of PSI ability. We have this ability due to an accident we had during our maiden hyperspace test flight. We are not fully sure what happened. There was an explosion and King Antony's blood went every place and touched us and we became like he is" stated Marshal Rickman.

"What, pray tell, is he, then?" asked Morook.

"He's immortal, a techno-mage and is the single strongest PSI mind any place" Replied Rickman who was smirking now.

"It's time to come clean I think. Your species are genetically created from our race and one other. When combined, both strands of DNA showed your mental abilities were off the scale. The Shadows, realizing what we had done, sent a virus to Earth. They blocked your species' PSI abilities from activating because they feared us and they had wiped out the J/Lai. We had no hope. We had almost been wiped out on all our worlds and that's when the guardians came and brought us here. Here we have been ever since, but growing in strength and knowledge for the day when we would repay the Shadows and Vorlons for their crimes." Stated Morook while stroking Rickman's leg.

"Morook, we have data files on King Antony if you would like to read them" offered Rickman, trying to distract Morook.

At the other side of the room was Princess Tzu-Yung, Marshals Von-der-tan, Trance and Gamlort, the Ikarian delegate. They were all laughing at poor Marshal Rickman at how he was trying to stop Morook's advances.

"I hope for his sake he's a strong man. She won't give in until she makes him hers. She loves to tease people, but I don't think she is this time" observed Gamlort, trying not to laugh at Rickman's displeasure.

"Now David, what seems to be the trouble? You don't already have a mate, do you? If you do, I would like to meet her" said Morook in a very proud tone.

"No, I'm not married any longer. My wife died some years ago back on Earth while I was away on duty" Replied Rickman in a sad way, thinking of the past life he now pined for.

"David, it sounds to me as if your species hasn't yet unlocked your PSI ability. Marshal Von-der-tan just gave me the run down on your King, via a strong telepathic message. Now she is strong to get past my defenses with ease and she is in deep conversation over the other side of the room. I do think we were the subject of their conversation" said Morook.

"If my memory serves me right, there is a device placed on Earth to stop your species from gaining any form of PSI ability. The only good thing about this is the elements can be found on Earth to destroy it. If you're wondering how I know. That is very simple. My species, David, has genetic memory. I am now sitting in front of you flirting, or it looks badly flirting" explained Morook.

Yetta had seen enough and she was fed up with Rickman's inability to deal with Morook. A part of her wanted him to squirm, but she hated to do that to him. She loved to see people happy and never sad.

"David, how is your evening going?" asked Yetta, but spoke again before David had a chance to reply. "David, don't you think the counselor would like to see the view from the lower gardens? Princess Tzu-Yung was telling me there is no other view to beat it" suggested Yetta, but not in a very over commanding way.

At this point Trakmos came over to them.

"Morook, what a nice invitation! I hope that goes for me as well, Marshal Von-der-tan" said Trakmos, trying to get close to the secretive Human Female. Morook knew straight away that Marshal Von-der-tan had done that to help her.

"I'm sorry, Trakmos. I have to go fill in my report and send it off to Earth. It's a little overdue and I hate to delegate matters like that to others. However Trakmos, there is always another day and another time, is there not? Also, I don't have to return to my fleet for a couple of days. Are you staying around that length of time?" queried Marshal Von-der-tan, looking at Morook and winking at her.

"Then if you're getting your tour another time, Trakmos, my handsome Human guide can show me around the nice places tonight" stated Morook. With that Trakmos took a bow.

"With your leave, Yetta. I believe I have a tour to start and Yetta thank you I think I might owe you for this night" laughed Rickman as he escorted Morook to the lift.

"Morook, where would you like to start your tour?"

"Any place, as long as I pick where I want to finish it" Replied Morook.

"Do I have any options to that?" asked Rickman pleasantly.

"Well of course you do. We can always start at the ending if you would like" replied Morook.

"That's all right. Why spoil a good night with trivial little things like that?" replied Rickman, blushing a little.

"Well everyone, I have to go now. I have to catch up on paper work and send my reports back to Earth. It's been a very busy and long day for us all. So I hope you continue with the party. Princess Tzu-Yung and her fiancé, Marshal Trance, and Prince Li-Shin are still here to look after you all and so are many Admirals and diplomats. So, please enjoy yourselves and stay as long as you like."

As Yetta was walking to the door, the Guardian Yeltraz came over to her and spoke to her.

"Marshal, your journey has just started and the path you're on may be very hard for you if you don't embrace what is given to you freely."

Yetta just looked at the Guardian with a puzzled look on her face. "It's ok to try to scan me harder, child. Your mental probe won't get through my defenses. With age comes strength and power. One day you will learn that and then you will unleash fear to Both the Shadows and the Vorlons. Your path changes all the time but following your heart will bring you to your cross roads that merge with all your other roads but that will take time. Do you have time, young human?" asked Yeltraz in a strange puzzling way.

"I'm sorry, Yeltraz. I don't fully understand what you're saying to me. I have to get my duties done. I hate being unorganized. If I don't do it now I will have even more to do tomorrow." Yetta smiled "I'm glad that there is one person in the room I can't scan and that is you, Yeltraz, so thank you for that gift" said Yetta.

"No need to thank me, child. With age comes strength and when on Earth your mental block is destroyed. You never know… you might be able then to read my thoughts" Joked Yeltraz.

"I don't think so, Yeltraz. For some reason I know that is impossible" replied Yetta as she bowed to Yeltraz and started to walk out the door of the hall and headed for her office.

Back on Zâ-ha-dum the two Shadow guardians were shouting at the great machine, showing them the battle that they knew they lost. Even Shaldor didn't understand what they were saying to each other. "Masters, what has you both so angry? Is there anything that I can do to help you both?"asked a very puzzled Shaldor.

"Shaldor, how many drone fighters do you have and would you use them to help us?" asked Zhamtralkum.

"Yes, Master. We have many fighters and they are ready to deploy whenever you need them" replied Shaldor.

"Go gather the others. Tell them that we need them. We will send you to them. They are used to us and how we fight, but your ships work different from ours. Your tactics are your own and so they will have a harder job trying to figure them out" stated Transdraculoom.

Shaldor started to work to the door and stopped turned around to both of his Masters.

"Masters, how long do I have to assemble the others for departure?" asked Shaldor.

"You have two weeks to make it ready and with that time you will be able to have as many motherships as possible. Tell the others we need them now. This is the test for your ship designs" stated Zhamtralkum.

On leaving the room, Shaldor was straight on his com system.

"Get me an outside frequency to all our allies. It's time to assemble our test ships for the war that is coming. We have a mission for our Masters that have them requesting our help" said Shaldor over the com channel.

The first to respond was the Stribe.

"Councillor Shaldor, this is War Minister Grashnor. We have a small fleet of our Aggressor class Heavy Frigates; about three thousand ships. We also have our larger Deliverance class Heavy cruisers, around one thousand ships. We have to tell you that we never built a fighter as of yet, but our ships have room for at least a squadron of fighters. Our ships stand ready to help our master. If not for him, we wouldn't have rebuilt them in time. We do have a second fleet under construction. This will be our main attack fleet. Their job was to weaken the vile Minbari for what they did to our Masters all those years ago.

"Minister for War Grashnor, our Masters will be very pleased with your efforts, but I do advise you to build a large screen of fighters and force them to do all the work. You have two weeks to get those ships to Zâ-ha-dum, my friend. Our enemies will pay for their crimes sooner or later" stated Shaldor and he closed the com channel to Grashnor. Shaldor started to think to himself _"I hope their ships are as devastating as on the plans I saw. They just need to build themselves some fighters.'_

"Shaldor, it is good to hear from you again after so long. How is your health?" asked Vavtkol, the Minister for defense for the Fragmen.

"We are fine, thanks. What ships do you have ready for our Masters? They need them now, Vavtkol. They will have two weeks to get to Zâ-ha-dum where the combined fleet will march forward in their name" Stated Shaldor in a very commanding tone.

"The only ships we have, Shaldor, are medical in nature, but we do have the upgraded versions we use to sample life forms from other worlds. They are the Enslaver class Dreadnoughts of which we have at present four thousand seven hundred. However, we have many more of the non combat version; nearly seven thousand of them. So what will the Masters need from us?" asked Vavtkol in an astounded voice.

"My friend, don't look so shocked. We will only take three thousand of your Enslaver dreadnoughts. But I do advise you to make smaller vessels" stated Shaldor before once again closing his com channel.

As Shaldor was walking to his command office, he was shocked to see the support he was getting from his allies. They now had a fleet of more than seven thousand ships, and that was even before they started to assemble their fleet for this campaign.

"Computer, how many ships do my people have on Zâ-ha-dum now?" asked Shaldor.

"There are six thousand mother ships in service, eight thousand carriers in service, nine thousand, eight hundred and seventy cruisers in service and four hundred and thirty five thousand fighters in service" replied the computer.

"Computer, inform the captains of one hundred random mother ships to make ready to form a fleet. Do the same with five thousand random carriers, six thousand cruisers and two hundred thousand fighters. That will give us the lead in ships in the fleet. It will show the masters how much we serve them" stated Shaldor proudly to the computer.

"Councillor Shaldor, we have the Wurt War Minister Sladmon online for you" said the voice over Shaldor's com.

"Greetings, Great Shaldor. Our military stands ready to serve our Masters. We have twenty mother ships, one thousand Dreadnoughts, four thousand Battle cruisers, and eight thousand Destroyers ready to serve our masters. Plus, we have ninety thousand gunships and 300,000 Fighters. These ships will be around Zâ-ha-dum within ten days, Great One.

"Thank you ,Sladmon, as long as you have enough to still defend your planets and their shipyards" said Shaldor hopefully.

"We have enough to protect our holdings and our people. We are safe from their ships. It's hard to find this place" replied Sladmon. He paused for a moment and then continued. "Also, our defense grid was a gift from our masters after their last great war with the vile ones, the Vorlons." Reminded Sladmon.

Back aboard the Valentha, the Grey Council was overseeing their final preparations to send a full fleet in chase of these ships. The Vorlons wanted to know the truth as well. They helped the Minbari by helping set up the supply depots the Minbari would need to keep the fleet going.

"Chosen One, we have had a signal from the first supply depot, showing it's up and running. It's been confirmed that the automated defense satellite systems were enough to bring down a fleet of warships" stated Sulkat, the newest member of the Grey Council.

"Sulkat, you will learn in time I don't take matters of the warriors to my heart. However, I know that these chosen few Minbari will do something none have done before us" stated Tralvor, the Chosen One.

"Master, the Fleet will be leaving Tir within the next hour. We have sent them our orders, the locations of the supply depots and the codes to get the supplies from them" replied Sulkat.

"Has the voyage been blessed yet?" demanded Dralka.

"No, the Priests couldn't get to the fleet for several days. They are in the middle of the Holy Festivals" answered Sulkat.

"Master, the Festival of Valen is well planned. The Warriors may have doomed their own mission. It must be postponed" requested Dralka.

"It will not be postponed, Dralka. The mission is a go and the Vorlons have helped us so far, but for how long they would help is another mystery. They have to launch on time" ordered Tralvor, overriding the Grey Council vote.

Back on the EAS Tidestone, Marshal Rickman and Morook was looking out at the stars and watching the ships on patrol, while some were gathering the remains of the shadow fleet that Marshal Von-der-tan had agreed to share with the Council Worlds.

"David, why do you move away from me one moment and the next want to be next to me?" asked Morook.

"I'm sorry, Morook. It's just been so long since I was alone with a woman, that's all. I know what you would like to happen. I would normally like more time to get to know you better" replied David Rickman nervously.

"Then, David, is it not time you get over your fears and show me the one place I so want to see?" Replied Morook.

"So what would you like to see?" asked David.

"Well, if you really want to know, the only place I want to see is the inside of your quarters and to get a guided tour of each room" laughed Morook

"I did offer, so let's go" replied David with a sigh. David took Morook by the hand and brought her closer to him and he kissed her on the lips.

Meanwhile, Yetta was sitting at her desk, sending her report of the battle and Diplomatic mission and who was present, when her private channel com bleeped twice and the screen came on automatically. "Sire, it's good to see you. It's been a fun day."

"Yes, I gathered that when your report was late; something I never know you do" stated His Majesty.

"I don't know where to start, so I will start at the beginning" Laughed Yetta.

"Not the beginning; just at the start of the day. I know everything up to yesterday. So spill the Gen and if it's good ill spill my Gen" Replied His Majesty.

"Well, Sire, it started in the Early hours of this morning. The Passatwar had detected a fleet of Shadow Vessels approaching. That just confirmed our probe readings. The problem was how many. We were told fifteen at first. It wasn't until they had all but reached us that their numbers had increased to sixty plus fighters. The fight was hard, but we lost no ships. However, we did get some minor scrapes, although nothing life threatening" Informed Yetta with a massive grin.

"Yetta, you're saying our MK3 warships can handle a Shadow fleet with that much ease? That is Great news. I can't help wondering what they would have done against the MK4 warships. That reminds me: your MK3 warships will be getting replaced, I hope, with the New MK5. At present, the prototype MK 5 warships are under construction. They will be getting space trials in the next year. For the next couple of years, deep testing of all their new techs will be conducted. Now the one thing I wanted to know about, Yetta, was David's reaction to his promotion and engagement?" asked His Majesty.

"Ok, ok put the hints away. David was shocked to find out that we both had a major hand in saving his career and he would forever be in our debt for it" Replied Yetta.

"Well he's a great kid and a great officer. I couldn't let him burn for a something he had no control over, and we all know that, Yetta" stated His Majesty.

"The arranged engagement was a massive stunner to him and that he had all of the Royal Families' support was a bit too much for him as well" said Yetta.

"Well, I hope he liked his new flagship. It goes well with his new job title. I trained you both and I know mistakes are something you leave for others in other fleets" Joked His Highness.

"I still can't get over how you even named the ship after the right royal daughter. How you did that is still beyond me for now. They did seem to make each other happy like a certain Neanderthal Councillor and a certain Marshal Rickman. Both couples sneaked off and got private tours of their own ships." Informed Yetta.

"I know how you love playing match maker. I'm glad I wasn't there. I bet you would have had someone chasing me all night. I still can't get over how long you have been there. Tidestone has been there for ten whole weeks now and do you know something, Yetta; I've started to count for Christmas. It's ninety three days to go" Joked His Majesty.

"Now for the gossip. It's not good unless we have misread the data. There seems to be a massive force assembling at Zâ-ha-dum and I mean massive thousands upon thousands of ships. That I would say is the worse of the two sets of bad news now for the better part of bad news. Your probes have picked up Minbari freighters following your probe course. They have set up two supply bases as of now and there are another twenty being built. There has in the last few hours a fleet of over seven hundred ships left Minbari space and they are warships. Look to the stars, Yetta and you will find your answers" Advised His Majesty.

Back at Zâ-ha-dum all the fleets had been fully assembled now for days.

"Shaldor to all alliance ships: you have full clearance to leave Za-ha-dum air space and set course for the distant galaxy. May the Masters shine down on your voyage and you blaze away their forces in eternal glory" Intoned Shaldor from the command centre. The Shadow alliance ships moved away at a steady speed and moved to the Quantum Gate. That increased their speed and reduced their journey's time to mere days, not years.

SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT HAD ALOT OF THINGS GOING ON AND STILL DO BUT I'M DOING MY BEST TO KEEP WRITING. HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY AND I WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS REGUARDING MY PLANS FOR THIS VERSION OF BABYLON 5. HOPE TO HERE FROM YOU SOON.

THANKS TO MY BETA READER SUSAN HILTON.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 4. Part Three. The Tide Turns.

Yetta woke up early and found her shoulder length auburn hair in a tangle. She headed to the bathroom to see what damage could be done to her hair from just getting five hours sleep. It seemed to happen every time she had a restless sleep. When she caught a glimpse of her hair, she was astonished. She looked like she had been dragged through a dense forest by a wildebeest, which was strange, considering she had slept for no more than five hours. _'I'm starting to look my true age, even though I still don't look bad for a gal of two hundred and two…well, I will be two hundred and three in a few weeks. Considering this inexplicable mop of hair, I'm still looking great. No gray hair, no wrinkles…I still look like I'm thirty-five.' _She said to herself, peering into the mirror above her bathroom sink.

With all the things that were going on in her head, from the size of the enemy fleet and knowing that it was incoming, to the point they at which they weren't fully sure which system they would actually arrive at, the little mystery of her Brillo pad hair didn't upset her as much. She was more concerned over defending an area they now controlled and their Tidestone systems and their sister systems. She had even thought of asking for help and hoping she might get some Decimator class warships. However, she knew that her ships could give and take a beating like no other force around, excluding, possibly, the Decimators ships. They were set in motion from the first day she arrived in the Dracora System. They were to use all the mobile construction ships to produce her orbital command complex. It was built in record time.

Meanwhile, Rear Admiral Elizabeth Cook, who was an unusually tall human female of six feet and eleven inches, of Greek descent, with long jet black hair that was for now tied up in a tight bun. Elizabeth was sitting at her computer, going over and over all the data she had been given on the Vorlon fleet. She was also now going over the spare assets she had and what was best to use for the emergency defense program.

"Computer, hail Marshal Von-der-tan for me and inform me when she's ready to take the call" ordered Elizabeth, as she continued to go through her personal files, looking for more ideas. It wasn't long until she saw the face of the marshal on her viewing screen. "Marshall, I hope I haven't contacted you at a bad time" the admiral said with a bit of concern.

"No Admiral, I needed to get up. I have major problems to sort out. So what's up and can I have a status report on the Dracora project?" asked Yetta.

"I want to let you know we have been able to get your command complex up and running and it's fully armed as well" Replied Elizabeth in a proud voice.

"Wow, you work fast, Elizabeth. I hope you're not after another promotion just yet." She paused and smiled before continuing. "Just kidding. That doesn't matter. What matters is how long it will take to get it fully manned and equipped, but you hailed me Elizabeth. What's up?" replied Yetta, now she had wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

"I've got some ideas on what we can do to combat that incoming fleet, even though we have more than enough starships in this Galaxy to send them to Hades" stated the proud Greek Admiral.

"So, my old friend, what's your great plan? Have you looked at the amount of ships that are available? I have. They are all fully taken up. That's just over sixteen thousand main ships, and close to thirty-four thousand secondary slips, as I call them, plus all the fighter and bomber yards and their storage facility" said Elizabeth.

Yetta just looked back at her while the information was sinking in. "Elizabeth, please tell me that I didn't hear you right. Are you trying to tell me that we have fifty thousand ships ready to launch plus spare fighters and bombers? I must tell you that we also have the experimental ship yard with the prototype ship, the EAS Storm Harpanguer that was placed under the command of Commodore Susan Storm."

"Yes, my friend. That's what I was telling you. Also, the great news is we have twelve more Tidestone class facilities coming online within days and thirty-nine more coming online within the next five to seven weeks. On top of all that ,Yetta, we have enough materials to produce another" Elizabeth paused to see Yetta's reaction.

"Well Elizabeth, don't leave me waiting in the air" Demanded Yetta in her rarely seen impatient tone.

"I can see that you can still be a party pooper at times, my friend. We can produce at the moment a further nine Tidestone Facilities. What I would recommend is deploying them in areas that would act as early intercept for ships or even fleets coming here" suggested Elizabeth.

"How long would it take to make your plans and to put them into action? Also, once in motion, how long would it take to fully complete all the sites?" asked Yetta.

"I'm not sure, but due to the high energy fields in this area our construction ships have already shown a massive increase in production speeds. That was even with reduced construction power being channeled to them" answered Elizabeth.

"What percentage did you place them at? Will this help us maintain longer weapon fights? I know our reactors are of Kirishic design. Elizabeth, do we have any of the automated construction probes? If we do, it's time we deploy them after reprogramming them to construct Tidestone complexes. I also would like the Troy class complex built. I believe your grandfather or grandmother helped design it with His Majesty. I think it's only right we use them" she joked. Her smile infected Elizabeth.

"Agreed, Yetta"

"Then joking aside, we have to deploy those ships and ready and train as many clones as we can. Then we must deploy them as a fighting force and create new battle fleets from them and deploy them to the best possible intercept locations. I think that will be a great job for my new second in command. You know what Trance is like for training. He's the best" Stated Yetta, smiling all the time and wishing she could be there to see the clones being trained.

"Yetta, I will have the ships ready to launch within four days. That will give us plenty of time to get the best clones and sort through the rest for the next batch. Yetta, before I head to sort that out, are you aware of the size of our standing army and navy personnel?"asked Elizabeth.

"No,not off the top of my head. Why? Is there a shortfall in troops and personnel?" asked Yetta.

"No, far from it. We may be forced to keep personnel in deep freeze for a bit longer than planned, that's all. However, at the speed in which we have grown and spread out here and with child births on the increase, we need to colonize more systems."

Meanwhile, across the other side of our Galaxy, the Minbari Battle force was awaiting the arrival of a Vorlon squadron. They were willingly sent to help their child race, but, as always, the Vorlons had their own very dangerous goals. Those goals were kept hidden from the Minbari for now. There was a fleet of twenty Vorlon Dreadnoughts, two hundred Medium Cruisers and one hundred Light Cruisers.

Shai Alyt Branshan was deep in meditation on the command deck of his mighty Sharlin Warcruiser

"Master, we have a message from the Vorlons. It said that we were to make ready for their arrival. They are coming now." announced the com officer. As Branshan opened his eyes, hundreds of jump points opened all around them and out came the Vorlon fleet. Before Branshan had a chance to ask for a channel to open, a Vorlon was on screen in front of them.

"Respect and greetings, sir. I'm Shai Alyt Branshan of the Fire Wing Clan. It honors us that you have sent so many ships to help us on our journey and to reduce the time we are away from our families" Shai Alyt Branshan bowed his head as he spoke as a sign of great respect. The Vorlon seemed to bow his head in a sign of respect as well.

"You may call me Zaquash Taranic. We will guide you to the place you need to be. But once you are on your bridge we can not interfere with the things that will take place. We will protect ourselves from all threats, new and old."

Branshan looked at Zaquash in a puzzled way that made Branshan look taller than he was, which was two meters. He was built like a warrior who had spent many hours training and toning his body for war.

"I wish not to seem rude or ignorant, but what do you mean Zaquash?"

"Impudent child! If your actions start something your warriors cannot defeat, we will not protect you. But, if we choose, we may decide to act for the salvation of our people and move our sword before you have a chance to react" explained Zaquash in a very condescending tone that made Branshan feel a bit intimidated.

"We will fully charge our systems for the journey ahead then we will set course for your destination" ordered Zaquash in a very demanding tone when the image faded away.

"You heard the Vorlon. Make ready the fleet for a long distance jump and have all systems fully recharged" Ordered Branshan to the bridge crew. The bridge offices all at the stations started working away at their interfaces and double checking all the data.

"Master, we stand ready for the journey. We still await their ready status message" announced the duty com officer.

"Fleet, this is Shai Alyt Branshan. Make ready for a long distance jump. With the aid of the Vorlons, we will be moving on to our next target. With the information that we have been sent, this trip will take us to the location of the first encounter estimated final location. With the size of the enemy fleet we could be wrong, but the Vorlons have double checked and confirmed those co-ordinates. The journey should take around twenty-eight weeks. They could make it faster, but were not sure if our ships could take that type of stress. We leave as soon as the Vorlons are ready" Ordered Branshan and then closed his own holographic image and sighed.

Zaquash was on the command deck of his Dreadnought, going over the information his people had gathered for centuries regarding Humans and the galaxy that they were approaching. Zaquash stopped at a file image that showed a perfect area about two days travel for the Minbari fleet to travel on their own to the set co-ordinates.

"Umtash, inform the children that we are now ready to leave" ordered Zaquash in a commanding tone.

"Should I tell them to increase their gravity drives to maximum?" asked Umtash.

"No, they must learn not to ask for our help in their petty matters in the future. This trip, if we handle it badly, would cost us much in the years to come" replied Zaquash.

"Agreed, Master." Umtash replied reluctantly. "You have unity on this matter."

"Umtash, you had your chance and you failed. The Humans will be brought to justice for crimes they will no doubt commit against our people. There were only two strong voices against our mission: Kosh Naranek and Ulkesh Naranek. It's the time of the soldiers. The way of the Warriors is over, as our children will soon learn."

"Yes, I know, but I fear that our actions may bring the Harbingers upon us sooner than we planned" replied Umtash.

"Your fears are noted. That is why we have come with another plan. It's the last weapon. If it is needed, it will come and help clean up a messy situation" growled a very proud and angry Zaquash.

"Master, the Vorlons have charged their systems and we are fully ready to head out. We have been told which ships to deploy along side their ships as well. They say we are using a type of travel only used by the First Ones and are lucky people to discover it by accident. They have also chosen a point of launch for our mission when we get closer" announced Alyt Falcum of the Star Riders Clan.

"That's good. Were the TL freighters out fitted with fighter hangers?" asked Branshan in a very concerned tone.

"Yes, Master. They have been outfitted as requested by the Vorlons and they still won't say why we needed the extra fighters" answered a very confused Falcum.

"We are not here to question the Vorlons, just to follow them. If they say we might need the increase in fire power, then so be it. We brought it" replied Branshan, standing tall and as proud as any warrior has ever been.

The ships all entered hyperspace, or what they thought was hyperspace. It was, in fact, Quantum space. They had begun the twenty day journey time. The Vorlons wished to remain in deep seclusion while they were traveling, all the time trying to see if there was another way around this problem. Zaquash studied the recordings of Valen, who stated the Minbari made contact with Humans twice and both times they fired first.

"Computer, display holographic historical files of Valen and any mention of Humans encountering the Minbari more than once" Zaquash ordered.

"The information you requested is ready for your viewing" replied the computer dispassionately.

An image of an old Minbari stood tall and proudly in front of the view screen.

"I am Valen. I helped create the Grey Council and helped to create a fighting force to defend every one from the Shadows. If only my people had listened to me they may not have been in such trouble. But as an old friend always said to me, trouble will always find a way and I drew it in like a magnet. The Minbari have already met a human. She is my wife, Catherine Sakai, who is from Earth. I was told by a Guardian it was to help me to relax and give my whole self to countering the Shadows. Her ship entered some form of temporal distortion wave that brought her back to this point in time. Its entire computer interface and memory had been wiped clean of all information." The image of Valen paused before continuing. "My wife and I had several children. I won't say how many, as our enemies may use this to hunt down and harm or kill my family. I cannot allow that. That was our people's first encounter with Humans. There will be yet another that will take place. That will be another disaster, caused by the Minbari. The first encounter will take place in another Galaxy. Our people detected the Tidestone departure from our galaxy and so did the Shadows. The Minbari will ask for help from the Vorlons. The one that heads the mission is Zaquash. He's a rather nasty and very dangerous Vorlon. There are only a handful of Vorlons that I fully trust, and I know of their deep mistrust of the Human race. They fear Humans because they found out that they can defeat their mighty ships. They have tried many times now to change the past" Valen started pacing, looking rather uneasy, seeming to know that this message would, if seen, change the future. "The Great Shai Alyt Branshan will lead the attack on the Humans. I was told to say everything I knew of this, and that if I did, my family would not be harmed. However, the Guardians themselves told me my family would be safe no matter what I decided to do. I should also say I have seen this message from whence I came. Branshan is betrayed by the lust for revenge by Zaquash. He will launch his forces in an all out pre-emptive strike that fails. This mighty Zaquash will tell the Minbari that they have fallen into a trap and they come to help the Vorlons" said Valen with a smile. " Zaquash, do you ignore what I have said? If you do, you will fail. You will fail in either encounter. I have the protection of the Guardians and I know you have failed, Zaquash. I know the truth. Both the Vorlons and Shadows have failed the younger races. I will be long dead when you go at last to your death. If you have changed by then, then listen and don't look for revenge. Seek the path of forgiveness. Your road has the option of splitting off and the Vorlon fleet will survive contact with the Humans" said Valen. He continued. "If you seek the long road of forgiveness you must stop your lust for revenge. I was asked not to say this part, but as a Human myself, I can't resist. The enslaved Vorlon you think is held in Human space is in fact you and some others. You will see what it means to feel humiliated. I have the final laugh on you. Zaquash, I knew the first time I met you who you were and still my metal defenses stopped your probing my mind, even in sleep. I'm a child of Jo-anne Crosby, former Governor General of Ikara and His Majesty, King Antony. As I was born out of wed lock. Jo-anne was forced to place…" The message faded out with heavy static, then returned. "That is how the Sinclair family line from that point acquired Psi ability. It was all thanks to my Grand mother." The message ended at this point.

"Computer, why has this information been withheld from me all this time?" Demanded Zaquash.

"The file only became unclassified while on the journey and this is the first time you asked for it" the computer replied calmly.

"Computer, are there any more files on the subject at hand?"

"Negative. There are no more files on stated subject. However, there is a standing order that can't be overturned. You cannot hail home world until you have made your decision. The leaders on Minbar have stated that you had their full support. They have sent the prototype world killer and an extra one hundred Dreadnoughts. These ships will await you at an area they believe will be a good staging point to attack the humans."

"Umtash, I want our ships ready to strike at these impudent Humans as soon as we are in weapons range! That upstart Valen is nothing but a insulate child! We will re-educate him and his species; this time with loyalty and obedience. Do not alarm the Minbari of our actions. Let them think we are trying to help them! Do you understand, Umtash?" roared a very angry Zaquash.

"As you command, Zaquash, even if I think it's rather unwise. I will have the ships ready for combat and I will have all the ships run battle simulations, to test out the information we have learned from the few Centauri that fled into our space, fleeing from the Human war machine. My only fear is that their technology hasn't advanced enough and made the Centauri information useless."

"You worry too much. You have been around Kosh Naranek too much. He is turning your mind weak like his!" growled Zaquash.

Both Zaquash and Umtash left the meditation chamber and started to head to the main bridge.

"We have many things to do and we can't fail, Umtash." Zaquash had calmed himself, but still had a shocked look on his face at the news that the Minbari historical figure they revered was actually a human. "Our people's future rests in our hands now."

"I have some files to search for. I have read something on this galaxy a while ago. Well, I think it was close to eight hundred years ago" stated Umtash.

"Then you'd better go search for this file and see if it brings order and light to our present problem. Be fast with your task, Umtash. We don't have a lot of time" replied Zaquash. "I will give orders to increase the fleet speed by using a massed field around the Minbari ships. It will reduce our journey by three quarters to seven weeks. Our sensors can't reach that distance either, so soon we will be forced to launch probes forward to assist with our sensor scans of the area" hissed Zaquash.

Umtash started to head towards the door from the bridge, all the time knowing what file he was looking for, since he was the Vorlon that made the Valen recordings at the request of Kosh Naranek. After a few moments he had entered his private room. He stood in front of his room's view screen. "Computer, display Valen file Alpha Sigma Babylon." The screen came to life and Kosh appeared on the screen. His appearance was something new to this file from the last time he viewed it.

"Umtash, I'm glad that you remembered this file. Zaquash is going to make a mistake that will change our way of life. He has been given this one single chance to change and learn. He was the one that wished to create the changes to the time line by trying to make the others weaker. The Dark Ones learned of this and started doing the same. That set off the great war between our two races that has destroyed most of our young charges. There are many things that could and still might go wrong. The Humans have been given help but from whom, I do not know. Valen knew the answer, but he refused to elaborate and he was able to repel our strongest mental attacks with simple ease. You will have the chance to earn freedom for many of our people and the Minbari that travel with you. The Minbari will do what they see is right. All things can be blinded by the light in the great darkness, my child. Protect all that you can and stay safe. Valen told me you will return home unharmed. His visions gave him great strength, even among our people. This message will be erased from the file after you have watched it, so good luck son and I hope you bring order back to Zaquash. If you fail to bring hope back to him, remember that his path lies down a different road to your own" said Kosh as the image started to fade away upon finishing the message.

Valen appeared in front of him this time. "The joint Vorlon fleet, according to my visions, showed me that both fleets were heading for the Human Capital system of Dracora. The Humans will pull them out of hyperspace and send a warning message to the Vorlons, demanding that they leave their space. The Vorlon leader, one called Zaquash, whom I have had the misfortune of meeting, believes that Humans are insects. I stand here now to try and stop this from happening. I have given you time to prevent this single action from taking place and I have even named the Vorlon who causes this. I have even told him to his face, only to be flung against a wall and called impudent by him. My reaction was one of sheer anger. I raised Zaquash in the air like a rag doll and flung him at a rising Vorlon transport. There are several possibilities to this vision. Only some have the outcome of the Vorlons holding ground and when the Minbari get told to stop their advances, they will charge and be closely followed by the Vorlons, who will catch the Humans off guard and manage to destroy several of their ships. But in the end, both sides will lose lives, but the Vorlon and Minbari survivors will remain there always. If Zaquash doesn't change his mind now, he will be enslaved to the Humans for all time. For the Minbari, there won't be much they can do to the Humans as the humans you are heading to Umtash are stronger than any race you have ever seen. Umtash, I know this is for your eyes only. Your father Kosh is one of the few Vorlons that I fully trust. Just like your Great Leader, Raptilash… does it shock you that I know of your leader and that I trust him? I do. Like Kosh, he's among my closet friends in this life time. So that is why I'm trying to send you a gentle warning about things that could happen. As you have seen, I'm the most powerful Psi mind in Minbari history. Even a group of Vorlons combined couldn't break down my mental defenses. What your facing is the cream of Human Psi strength; every single of one them stronger than I. That would include my mental blocks removed to increase my strength against the Shadows, but doing that allowed me to see things that I wouldn't have been allowed to see. So much death and seeing old friends long since dead I thought was so wrong. I will give you this warning: watch out for the true Protectors of the Humans. They have great strength and are known only as the Guardians." Valens message started to fade away, but before it was fully gone, it reappeared with one final message. "…For the Guardians are close by, watching the events and what you do now will determine the outcome. The Minbari will have no record of this encounter with the Humans. Their first encounter is when Dukhat dies and they start a holy war. That war, in time, will show that the Minbari started the conflict. One final reminder: in all the possibilities that can happen, Zaquash has seen his enslavement. It is hidden at the back of his mind. Those that sent him must wish the Vorlons and Minbari to lose face in the galactic arena of life. There is no turning back, as the Dark Ones are moving fast to get to Dracora before any defense can be placed before them. I have now told you things that I had to and things that I didn't, so in my books, we are now even. The storm you are moving against is not like any you have seen before." The image of Valen disappeared fully.

"The file you have just seen has been erased from all memory files and from the home world as well. After getting the confirmation order of deletion from home world, we have now lost the ability to communicate with the home world" The computer announced blandly.

Umtash was shocked to see this video that would cause their species possible final defeat at the hands of the Shadows. After a few moments he turned around and headed to the door, moving as fast as he could go. His destination was the command deck. The lift doors opened up and there was Zaquash, standing there in front of a holo display station, showing him all that the Vorlons knew about the Humans.

"Zaquash, you have to listen to me. I know that you know what I'm going to say. You said Humans had to be taught a lesson for the crimes they would commit against our species. What crimes are those? If I have to guess, I would say that they would be holding prisoner many of our kind that survived the disastrous battle you're about to start. You want vengeance for a crime that you unleashed, Zaquash; not me and not our other brothers and sisters. You have failed our people!"

"Umtash, you have failed me yet again. You wish me to listen to a pack of lies that was recorded by some human that went back in time. Remember, Umtash, understanding is like a three edged sword: your side, their side and the truth. From which side have you come to understand the truth? You may be looking at a lie sent by the Gods to test us. I will hear no more of your dissent" growled Zaquash, reminding Umtash who lead the mission.

Umtash bowed and shook his head in pure disgust, knowing that under any other circumstance, he would have lead this mission, but he and his friends would have lost. He knew what was coming and there was nothing he could do but stand and watch as his people died. He knew that he would like nothing better than to see the visions of Valen wrong. The fleet they had would be enough against the threat posed by mankind. Soon both the Minbari and Vorlon fleets would be tested to their limit. How many would survive was unclear now, since it was before the fleets left their home galaxy.

Aboard the Drakh alliance attack force flagship bridge stood Senior Counselor Klapno.

"It looks like the Vorlons have come in person; something our masters were not counting on. However, we will take full advantage of this" Klapno started to chuckle, thinking that they would at last have revenge, thanks to their enemies, the Vorlons and Minbari. "Inform the fleet to hold back and let our enemies clear a way for us. We will swoop in at the last second and destroy what remains." Once the order was given, the Drakh fleet started to slow down, making sure that they would be within range to pounce at the right moment.

Three weeks later, in the Tidestone System, both Marshalls Von-der-Tan and Trance were finishing up a long range update message to Earth and His Majesty in General. Both Yetta and Graham both sat in Yetta's state office, in red on black leather padded executive chairs, behind an antique English oak desk, that looked out of place in a modern office style room next to two computer interfaces on the desk and a huge one hundred inch flat screen monitor on the wall for video chats. In the corner nearest to the door was a tall display cabinet with crystal decanter sets with wine glasses on it and each decanter was filled with a different drink. On the wall opposite the door was a six person leather sofa and in front of that was a nice antique English oak table with another glass decanter and a fruit bowl with fresh sweets and fruit on display. On the hard black wooden floor was an ancient, mostly red Persian rug, dating back to the fifteen century. Yetta had once explained that it was a gift from His Majesty on her promotion to Marshal. Every Marshal received a personal gift from His Majesty upon their promotion.

"So Graham, how are you finding married life and being a part of the royal household now? I wish I had been there to see the faces of everyone who laughed at you now, but that's for another time. So tell me, how is the EAS Storm Harbinger running under trials? I do hope you did give it to Commodore Storm. That ship is the first ship built using Human and Passatwar technology, so let's hope it can still fight."

"The Passatwar engineers they sent to help us on the project have all said it's stronger and meaner than even their latest ship designs. It will be able to give out nearly three hundred percent more fire power than their Decimator and its shields could withstand a star going nova. I have advised and placed the Storm Harpanguer into reserve for the most likely point of first contact with the Vorlons" answered Trance.

"Then we will place the EAS Princess Tzu-Yung Khan in the next possible location, but again in reserve for that location, while the EAS Von-der-tan will take up the third most possible location held in reserve. The three ships will keep their catapult system fully charged so it can be used. That way, no matter where they enter, all three will be there in seconds" said Yetta.

"Yetta, Graham, you both know I wish I could be with you both for this, but I doubt the Earth Council would allow me to travel there yet, especially while there was some form of military action. There could still be more that could be done to plan for your defenses. I hope you've also started building Troy class complexes and Hyperspace Battle Stations. I don't want to lose either of you. That would get me very angry and start a war we can't win at the moment, but soon we will be able to smash the Vorlon Empire if we are ever forced into a war with them" stated His Majesty.

"Sire, please don't worry. We can win and the Vorlons that are coming this way will be in for a huge shock. We don't just have the Storm Harpanguer. We have nineteen more under shake down cruises. That is due to Rear Admiral Cook. She got worried and as she's head of construction and supply, she has kept me up to date on all that" responded Yetta.

"Well, Yetta don't keep us in the dark. What has Elizabeth done?" asked His Majesty.

"In simple terms, she turned up production to full on the auto construction yards and it paid off. Elizabeth had already explained to me that the background radiation worked brilliantly with our systems. It increased production with a five percent output to a whopping one hundred thousand percent of normal. So turning them to one hundred output will give it an incredible two million percent output as long as radiation stays the same. After the first battle with the Shadows it increased them again by a factor of eight. Then after the Drakh attack, it altered them yet again. This time it increased production by quadruple. So in plain English people, a Storm Harbinger took two years to build at five percent output, so now at full production at the rates I've just said gives us one ship every one point one four days. So in under a month, we launched the other nineteen Storm Harbinger class ships. In another twenty-three days, we can have a further twenty under trials and ready to help out" Stated Yetta in a very proud voice.

"Wait a minute, Yetta. I'm trying to get my head around this time scale. When did Elizabeth have time to start the increased production? The question that is running around in my head is just how many slips are being produced now?" asked Trance.

"Graham, my friend, I think I can answer that. If new ships have come on line, and there has, your two personal command ships alone can produce forty Storm Harpanguer at any one time. So every twenty-three days, between you both, there are eighty Storm Harbingers. I would hate to guess at any more than that" stated His Majesty.

"Sire, I'm not fully sure off the top of my head, but I do know we have several hunter groups out there too, scouting out the advancing Vorlon and Minbari fleet. There are that many ship lists coming to my desk. I can't keep up with them all fully" explained Yetta.

"Then on that note people, we should call it a day. It's been great catching up with you both" stated His Majesty. The com channel closed straight away.

Meanwhile, aboard the EAS Storm Harpanguer, Susan Storm was trying to see just what her new ship could and couldn't do. The bridge was state of the art design, with a central command area with computer interfaces on both sides of the command chair. They granted her easy access to all the systems that she needed. Also on both sides of the command chair were two lowered stations. On the left there were two stations for the first officer and the fourth in command. On the right were the controls for the second officer and security officer, leaving the operations managers' stations and engineering station at the rear of the bridge. Directly in front of the command chair were the helm and navigation stations and directly to the left was the tactical station. On the right of the helm was the science station. Scattered around the sides of the bridge were the remaining duty stations with the Marine bridge officer station and Flight deck officer stations as well. They reported directly to their heads of each department. In front of the helm station was the new multi phased two hundred and twenty inch viewing screen. The bridge had a look of an organic surface; the first of Earth's attempts at producing a fully working organic warship. In this case it was a semi organic design. They knew that the Kirish Lords used a perfect organic design that they helped create by going to war with the other First Ones and stealing what they needed to win.

What the Passatwar had said about Earth's technology meant that Earth had advanced beyond the strongest of all the younger races. Human scientists on finding or being introduced to a new technology form were able to gather the basic understanding of it within days. Plus Earth was still developing new technology all the time and they knew their shield technology was more advanced than the dreaded Shadows.

"Sir, we have a hyper space vortex opening just off our port axis. It's reading as a Decimator class warship" announced the young looking male Lt. Commander Samuel Christie, who was of African descent.

"Samuel, please be a dear and hail the Passatwar for me. Ask them why they have chosen this moment to come to visit us. Please record their reply and send a copy back to command central."

Susan started to smile, thinking that they may have come to watch how quick Humans learn and study and improved on what they were given. They were going to be in for a surprise. The EAS Storm Harbinger had made some very subtle but impressive improvements over the Passatwar designs.

Captain John Stephenson was standing at the engineering station, watching the data from the main reactors as they brought weapons to full strength. The first officer, being short in stature, was classed as small. Even though he was five feet and nine inches tall, he was a well muscular man with very broad shoulders. He hated having grey hair, but he knew he carried it well. Even though he looked old, his actual age had him in the two hundreds now.

"Susan, it looks like they wanted to see how our ships get that increase in power from this back ground radiation in this galaxy" John went silent for a few moments. Then he started to chuckle to himself. "They have started doing a gentle sensor scan of all our ships systems. What are your recommendations, sir?"

"They don't know we can detect their sensors, so let's show them just what we can do. Bring the jamming equipment online and start a gradual power up. We don't wish to draw attention to those sub systems yet. Then when the jamming equipment is fully powered, block them and see if that stops them. If it does not, invite them over for a tour" replied Susan as she moved her right hand nervously through her hair. "If the Passatwar take us up on this offer, I want you to welcome them aboard. I know it's the first time for you meeting one. Also, don't forget you're up for a promotion and Yetta and Trance won't be kind to you if you throw your normal spanner in the mix. Just look at me" Susan said with a smile.

"Captain, I have a stealth signal coming through for you from the Cleopatra" informed Samuel.

"It's always a good idea to plan for the events that you can never think of happening, but I always think of the fall of Troy at times like this. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. Put the Cleopatra on main screen please" ordered Susan with a sheepish grin on her face.

An image of an old rugged man, who looked out of place among the young immortal officers, appeared on the screen. He was a veteran of the early pirate raids on Earth when they were first starting out. He was aboard one of the first ships that became victims to alien raiders. His face still had the battle scars of that fateful night when his ship was attacked and the computer system exploded in front of him, sending metal fragments in his direction. He had been promoted and transferred to the EAS Thrown for the Hyperspace test flight. Captain Mark Rush was still looking good for his age, even though he was an amazing two hundred and thirty seven years old.

Mark sat there with his trademark white hair, perfect white teeth and white uniform on show for all to see when he spoke with absolute respect.

"Now Susan, you're going to have to stop playing with that crystal ball of yours and give the other kids a chance to use it. I would certainly hate to play poker against you, but I'm here now and that's all that counts. The Passatwar turned up as you thought they would, but what worries me is that they are outwardly here as friends of Earth. I wonder if they have really come to slay us and turn our survivors into slaves."

"Boy, for an old man you don't seem to know how to overreact and turn into a drama queen" Susan said with an amused smile, all the time aware that he was fully aware as she was that the Passatwar had come for a training mission to see if they could work out a battle plan against the coming enemy forces.

Mark sat there with his trade mark smile, just waiting for the right to speak again.

"So Susan, now the jokes have been told and the last laughs laughed. Can we at least discuss when you would like this training exercise to start? The more time we waste, the less time we have to get to the main staging zone to ready our forces" stated Mark in his normal fatherly way to the younger officers of the forces.

"John to bridge. I'm in the hanger bay and their transport has started to go through landing procedures and will take about another seven minutes. Security scans have revealed there are only five people on board. The outer hull is made up of a semi translucent material that gives it a natural cloaking ability. The security scans don't show any form of weapon, but if the ship is organic, they could hide them from us until it's too late. I've ordered the area to run with hanger shields at fifty percent just in case" announced the executive officer.

The Passatwar delegation sat aboard their transport, watching the view of the inside of the Human vessel.

"My Lord, do you believe these Humans will bring the final victory we were promised so many years ago back in the old Galaxy?" asked the Jeldrum female flight security commander in the standard Passatwar military uniform. It consisted of a black jacket with silver buttons and green trousers and a matching shirt that denoted the branch of service she was in.

The Passatwar Sector Lord smiled, looking pleased that someone else had thought of the possibility that these Humans were weak and destined to fail.

"You have seen the chances of failure in the heart of these Humans,Jeldrum. Yes their technology is very impressive, especially since they have beaten back the Shadows already and that was with the council watching on. Just remember that your standing orders are to gather what information we can on them so we can make a defense study in case they turn on us" Stated Lord Gradlock, who was a very impressive and tall Passatwar male. He wore his regal office uniform that was made up of a wild animal skin from an elderly Shandork, with black obsidion buttons and gold studded belt.

"Flight control to cabin… we have deployed the landing gear and we will be landing very soon" announced the flight bridge chief. The bridge was gilded with gold and silver on every wall, with the helm station placed in front of the window. Behind the helm station was the command chair. It was lined with the skins of young Shandork.

"Flight control to security detail: make ready and have your detail make the way to the departure area." At that, the security detail all jumped up and placed their gold helmets over their heads. They wore full knee-length red jackets made from Shadindal Silk and matching combat trousers.

Lord Gradlock raised himself from his chair and started to head to the door, pausing to wait for Jeldrum to catch up to him.

"Now Jeldrum, don't take your time any more. We don't wish to be late. These Humans do worry me and I wish to show them that we are the true military force in this galaxy. Our leaders have given these Humans access to our latest weapons technology. Our latest technology is not much more advanced than these Humans."

The two walked to the departure room to be met by his security detail. As they both walked in, the security detail jumped up and saluted them both in unison.

"John to Bridge: the Passatwar delegation is ready and they have started to depart their transport. They seem to have a security squad and they are dressed in red. I hope that's not an omen of things to come" half-joked John, hearing Susan chuckle on hearing the dress of the security detail. Realizing the Passatwar delegation might be able to hear the Commodore laughing, he closed the com channel and moved in to greet the Passatwar delegates.

"Greetings. I'm Captain John Stephenson of the EAS Storm Harpanguer. Welcome aboard and thank you to your Council for giving us the help. We were told that some of our technology has out passed that of even your very own technology. However, that's another story for another day. We will gladly give you a chance to tour the Storm Harpanguer in more detail in the coming days. But first, I will take you to see Commodore Susan Storm."

Meanwhile on the bridge, Susan was watching Captain Stephenson as he the Passatwar delegation and was taking in all their body language. They seemed to be rather nervous. Susan started to think to herself _'I would be nervous boarding an alien ship for the first time too, but their nervousness appears to be for a different reason. I will soon find out why.'_ Susan was brought out of her thoughts by the appearance of Commander Brown, who spoke to her.

"Commodore, they're leaving the hanger. If you wish to get there before they do, you should head there now. It will give you a chance to see the looks on their faces as they meet you. As in all meetings with Human officers, they have been made to wait. Now, Ma'am, it's your turn to make them feel like you made them wait."

Susan looked at Commander Ian Brown and was reminded how young he really was. He was only thirty-nine years old and was very gifted at telling someone what was needed.

"Ian, you might not be as tall as every one else, but you make up for your height in wisdom. I can see now why Captain Rush put up a fight to keep you on board. But that's our gain, my young friend, so please join me if you will." They both raised themselves from their chairs and headed to the dining room to wait for their guests.

"Commodore, did you hear that Lieutenant Commander Sterling is pregnant again? I think she loves being pregnant. I'm not sure how far along she is, but if we are heading into combat soon I thought I should tell you."

"Well Ian, when we are alone, please call me Susan. It's not right to call me Aunty, so call me Susan. That bit of news with Lieutenant Commander Sterling is probably the reason she's coming to see me later, but thank you, Ian for bringing that to my attention."

"So Susan, what do you give our chances at facing off against that Passatwar Decimator during the shake down cruise and weapon testing? I'm just hoping that the designers have done their jobs right and have reinforced the shields as they claim they have. I just can't wait to get into a fight with those Vorlons. I'm glad I was assigned to you. I know I will learn loads from you. You're my favorite aunt." Ian leaned in close and gave his aunt a kiss on the cheek.

Susan raised her hand to the cheek Ian had just kissed and slightly blushed.

"That's a really good question, Ian. I know that the Decimator won't stand a chance against the EAS Storm Harpanguer. There were several computer simulations that were run and each one proved how strong this vessel is. The main simulation was run with two thousand shadow battle crabs and all their fighters. The outcome was very close, but we won and the drone fighters proved their weight in gold. Don't forget Ian, the automated construction yards on board that replace fighters all the time. We can't lose a fight. Also, we have local back up if we need them" smiled Susan as the lift door opened and they entered the dining room.

The dining room was used for many things. Today it was being used as a meeting hall as well as a dining room. The room was huge; it was seventy five meters in length and eighteen meters wide. The ceiling was covered in sapphire and diamond chandeliers. Around the wall of the room was the sections of the dining table that was being used to hold the food that had been prepared for the meeting. There was a selection of every type of food from Earth. They also had foods they had found in their new galaxy. With that there were loads of white gold coffee pots and rose gold tea pots (traditional black tea), red gold tea pots (Green tea), pink gold tea pots (Earl Grey) all around the room and there were even some green gold hot water thermoses around the room and around them was a mix of bowls all having a different type of drink on offer from native galaxy drinks to more different Earth hot drinks.

"Well Ian, it looks like the catering staff in the kitchen has done us proud. I will bet credits that the Passatwar turn their noses up at our foods and only certain ones will try it if any. There are plenty of decanters with water around the room, and thank the gods they even brought alcohol down. They covered everything. Remind me to thank Captain Drake later for her great work. They have even changed the art work that covered the walls. The art work that is now on the walls is composed of pictures of the home galaxy and how the worlds look now. There are even some Ikaran art forms there too. Let's hope that this pleases them. I still say we have gone overboard for them" stated Susan as the door opened.

In walked Captain Stephenson, closely followed by the Lord Gradlock, Jeldrum, and then the red colored uniformed security officers came in, still wearing their helmets. Lord Gradlock stopped in his tracks, forcing his escort to bump into him in a rather sudden stop. He looked over to Commodore Storm and coughed to clear his throat.

Commodore Storm and Commander Brown were moving towards them in a way to show that they had just arrived themselves.

"Greetings, Commodore Storm. Your mighty ship looks very much up to the job of dealing with this attack that seems to be stalking your race. I must say this now before we continue: my voice has very little weight in the council chambers these days, but our ancient enemies just started turning up since you turned up. I have to ask: is Earth working with our enemies to bring us down? I'm sorry, but I have to ask hard questions."

"You have answered a question yourself. Yes we will destroy those that come this way from our home space who are out for blood, and yes we believe it was us that brought them here. Why they are coming is unknown, but in time we will have all the answers. If that means capturing some of those that stalk us, then we will have the answers we both seek."

All the time that Susan and Gradlock were talking, John was eyeing Commander Brown and thinking to himself. _'I can't believe that Ian is Susan's great great nephew, and I still can't get over that he's only five feet seven inches tall. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in other ways. He's everything my granddaughter is looking for in a husband. No wonder they love each other so much.'_

John walked straight up to Ian, smiling all the time.

"It's good to see you off duty Ian. Can I ask when you are going to make an honest lady out of my granddaughter? I know you both love each other."

Ian started to blush, not believing that Joanne's grandfather would say that at the first chance he had to ask it. John started to laugh, seeing Ian blush. Then Susan joined in and the Passatwar delegation all joined in.

"John, the ring is in my cabin. I was going to wait until after the war games to ask for her hand in marriage. I was going to ask you for your blessing as well. She thinks of you with such fondness. You are Joanne's second father and my surrogate father too."

Susan started to walk over with Gradlock and before Susan had a chance to speak, Gradlock spoke first.

"In our culture, it is an old tradition to give a new friend advice on marriage, but in your case, I will give you a gift of bedding for your wedding night. I have also a gift for you, Susan, and your first officer as well. It's a Passatwar dress uniform, made from the skin of an old Shandrak. Don't worry. we don't kill them. It's done when they die naturally in nature. We then skin them to honor them, but it's very expensive and only the rich use it. Your boats are made from the young Shandrak that don't make it in life. Your other clothing is made from Shadindal silk, naturally harvested from them daily."

Everyone looked at each other for some time and then Susan spoke up.

"What other clothing, if may I ask?"

"I didn't mean to offend you. It's your shirts and under clothing. I'm not sure if that is what you call them." Gradlock started to look rather embarrassed and was looking for some help from his senior aid, Jeldrum. She walked up to him and whispered something in his ear and Gradlock started to laugh.

"I'm sorry. I have learned that your underwear is what you have on under your clothes, protecting your body."

Susan wanted so much to blush and laugh, but she was in full control of her emotions and refused to lose control over that.

"Yes, that's just what we call them: underwear. I must say thank you for the gift of the silk shirts and underwear. The only thing I have to give you as a gift in reply is in the boxes on the table. But after your wonderful gifts, I would love to present you with any piece of art work that's on the walls in this room. I only hope there is one that you like."

"Commodore, you really wish me to pick one of these wonderful pieces of art work? You honor me so very much. It's a magnificent gift. I am beyond words. Thank you very much." With what looked like a tear in his eye, he walked over to the art work piece from Ikara and smiled. As he raised his hand and touched the art work he turned and looked at Commodore Storm. "If I could, I would love to have this one. This world meant so much to my family and to our race and for that I have no doubt of your honor. If I may ask, what will Earth do for Ikara now?"

"Earth is in the process of bringing it back to life. They found out much about the past of Ikara and that of the Passatwar people from it. That is the reason we have journeyed here to learn more about the truth that your race may hold the key to. Our great and wise King advised us to study and understand your catapult drive technology that you used to travel to this very remote galaxy. He was aided by several members of an ancient race called the Kirishic Lords and with their help they both managed to increase the time field around the drive system. We had the journey down to weeks in the end and at the start it would have taken several decades to reach here. But that's enough of that. We have arrived and we are spreading out in the systems we were told we could and in the void outside the galaxy itself to help protect our colonies."

Meanwhile, aboard the Vorlon command cruiser, Zaquash was getting ready to hail the Branshan the Minbari leader.

"Make sure everyone stays in their suits. We don't want these tools to see us as we truly are. It is not yet time and the final battle hasn't started yet." All of the remaining Vorlons outside of their encounter suits quickly got back into them.

"Computer, inform the Minbari that I'm awaiting their transmission."

"Master, the Vorlons have hailed us and told us that they await our transmission" said the communication officer.

Branshan stood there for a few moments, looking at everyone in their warriors uniforms and thinking how honored he was to command these warriors along side their friends, the Vorlons.

"I wasn't told that the Vorlons wanted me. So why wasn't I?" Demanded Branshan.

"Master, the reason you were not told is that we were not told about it. There is no report of any transmission from the Vorlons asking for us to hail them."

"The Vorlons wouldn't have lied to us. Run a full diagnostic of all communication systems after we have spoken to them. Hail them now!" yelled Branshan.

"Leader the children wish to speak to us now" said the Vorlon Communication officer.

"Open a channel and make ready to return to normal space on my orders. Yes Branshan we have reached the point were we must return to normal space and make ready to attack these barbarians for their crimes against our races. They will learn what fear is and what respect is and I will teach it to all those that step in our way" hissed Zaquash.

"Does that mean that you have changed your mind about staying only as an observer in this short battle? But that will mean we will be able to attack all the way to their hearts and destroy them before they can turn on us and support the Dark Ones" replied Branshan

"We will drive them back to their heart world and we will turn it black with ash. I will not allow us to fall to our ancient enemies because they hid their bases and had child like races rebuild them for them. They will learn obedience. Make your ships ready to return to normal space, Branshan. We go now."

Branshan nodded to his officers who couldn't be seen and then he smiled. â€œ

"We are now ready to return to normal space, Zaquash."

In the void of the Vorlon temporal sphere, all the ships started to open up jump points to normal space. It wasn't until the very last Vorlon ship left that the temporal sphere collapsed in on itself.

AUTHOR NOTES:

I'm sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I had time off over Christmas and New Years. When I came back to writing, I had writers block. However ,I did manage to start working on many other chapters in my story.

I tried very hard to reduce the amount I write and increase the description of characters, ships, rooms the list goes on but I do hope I have made some improvement in those areas.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 4, Part 4: The chains of Enslavement

The combined Vorlon and Minbari fleet returned to normal space in perfect battle formation. To the shock of their fleet crews, the Human forces had forced them both to come out of hyperspace at the verge of the weapons' effective range. They also had some time to travel in normal space to reach the nearest Human outpost.

Aboard the Troy class Battle Complex, all the alarms started to go off as the hyper range sensors picked up the enemy fleet coming out of hyperspace at extreme range. Automated announcements were going off, telling everyone to report to their battle duty stations and make ready for battle. Claxons were sounding.

"Will someone please turn those off or at least turn them to mute? We still have to give out orders to people" ordered Admiral Branko Irons, annoyed. Branko glanced at a screen at his side, checking some data that had just flashed on the screen. Admiral Irons brought himself ready to make his next big speech; probably the greatest of his career. Everyone, please calm yourselves down. There is no need to panic. We have every thing under control. Launch all alert ready warships and defense craft. I want a full perimeter set within fifteen minutes. Have all hyperspace vortex jammers brought online. Go to maximum strength and activate the cloak. Launch all the drone fighters and have the automated ship yards brought online and start producing new drone fighters. I want to scare them off a bit to allow us to spread our ships forward. Fire all hyper Particle cannons. That will increase range and strength. We might get lucky and take a few of them out" the admiral ordered into the intercom system. "Everyone, what we do now will save the rest of our expedition to this galaxy. If these double damned Minbari and Vorlon wish to wipe us out then they're going to be in for a major shock to their systems, so make ready everyone. We can't afford to lose lives. This is no drill. Communications officer, inform our hyperspace battle stations to make ready for guests and charge our screens to full. Increase our shield strengths to maximum and deploy all hyperspace scouts. It's time to scare these life forms to death."

Everyone on the bridge started to cheer and nod with approval. From the back of the bridge was heard the voice of Commodore Franklin Dobbs.

"Admiral, we may have another problem. They're moving at a much slower speed than the other Minbari and Vorlon units. They read as very heavily modified Minbari warcruisers. Their weapons systems have some form of ancient weapons. They have some escorts of unknown origin and they are manned by non- Minbari. I've done a scan of the life forms. The computer has identified them as the Takâcha."

"Then, Commodore Dobbs, we'd better see what they want and if they wish us harm. Send a message to Central Command and inform them of these ships. I don't want to be caught off guard" answered Admiral Irons.

Fleet Admiral Irons, who appeared to be a forty five year old White Human of German decent, was in fact an immortal Human of some advanced age, having lived through all of Earth's wars. He led the invasion of one of the main Centauri systems in a hit and run mission, taking no losses. In all the combat missions Branko had commanded, he had never lost even a single ship to the enemy. Branko knew he was going to lose lives this time, but the only thing he was concerned about was just how many he was going to lose.

"Com Officer, open up the intercom system again and put it fleet wide and to our hyperspace guards as well." He waited until the com officer complied swiftly, and then spoke into the intercom. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it's been my greatest honor serving with each and every one of you. However, it's my sad duty to say that this will not be like any other battle we have fought. We all must see and know that we might lose a few of our brave men and women over the next few days. If that does happen, I say now that our losses will not go un-avenged. We will win and we will take prisoners this day. I'm going to read our orders now so we all know what to do in case our Command and Control is lost during the battle."

Admiral Irons walked away from the intercom system and walked to his desk,unlocked the orders from his desk and returned to the intercom system, looking proud in his white uniform, which was a gift from His Royal Highness, King Antony Himself. The white uniform indicated that they had the full support of King Antony and was a reward only given to the very few honored officers in the Navy.

Admiral Irons coughed to clear his throat and started to speak again.

"My fellow officers and friends, we have served through so much in our lives; some longer than others. To my good and wise friend, Fleet Admiral Branko Irons: I have placed you in control of the first of the Troy stations in the hope that if anyone can stop the hordes coming, it's you my friend. I need you to attack every last ship that enters your system. However I don't want them destroyed. Just target their engines and disable their combat capabilities. Make sure you board their ships when possible and when you engage them, make sure the marines have the new personal defense shield units up so it will be strong enough to stop even a Vorlon from touching them. I need the Vorlons and Minbari captured. I know they wish to hunt us down like animals. Your orders are to survive this at all costs. You will have reserves close by in other staging areas and from friends that you haven't seen yet. Don't waste the chances you will have. Send for them upon seeing them. They will stay in hyperspace and search for extra unknown support vessels and they will engage them on sight. They have their own orders. If it's not too much to ask, I would love for research and development to gather intelligence on their ships for future catalogue. Your main orders are to keep the losses to a minimum. Because I'm not there in person, I can't give you a battle plan, but I know you have already run every possible scenario possible to see the outcome of this. Look to the Takâcha. They will do you honorable service. They bring a warrior from the days of the last Great War. This warrior is to be fully trusted. He was betrayed by everyone, including me, at least that is what I've been told by the Kirishic Lords. However, they failed to tell me how I personally failed him before they left to travel again. They have a more aggressive stance to life than others, but they follow the teachings of this warrior. I believe Princess Tzu-Yung Khan has the command of her own ship. Unleash her Takacha and she will unleash their fully combined might on your enemies. Keep your weapons satellites at their extreme range to help protect the station. Cloak all vital satellites like the Hyperspace Vortex jammers and run them at full power. I want to say one last thing, people. I wish I was there, because I truly wish I could be there to slap the overconfident the grins off the Vorlons faces, if they have them. You don't have me, but you have the very best of my trained people waiting the word to come to your aid. That ends His Highnesses message. We can't and won't let him down" finished Irons.

"Sir, we have an incoming message from Princess Tzu-Yung. She claims to have received a time delayed message from His Majesty. He has requested her to head here at top speed on board her new personal defense ship. She's sent us on a sub channel a layout of the EAS Hand of Khan. That's a Battleship version of the Storm Harpanguer."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Commander Pain. Transfer those specs to my personal computer. I'll have a look at them in a few minutes. Communications officer, open a secure channel to the Reserve groups EAS Von-der-tan, EAS Princess Tzu-Yung Khan and EAS Storm Harpanguer. Let me know when or if we hear back from them. If you don't, send this covert message: The in-laws have arrived and we don't have enough beds for them to stay in."

Meanwhile, aboard the Vorlon Command Cruiser, Zaquash was getting rather impatient with the lack of sensor information.

"Computer, if we launch all our fighters forward and lose them all, how long would it take to grow new fighters for our forces?"

"We can give birth to up to seven more full squadrons before we would need to feed."

That made Zaquash launch them forward. Even if they destroyed the odd one, they wouldn't be able to destroy them all. Soon all the Vorlon fighters were in hyperspace, trying to scan ahead, only to find that they were blind to all things, with the exception of the flow of energy in hyperspace.

"Ship, go ahead and start your fighter birthing program now and inform our other ships to do the same. We need as many biological ships as we can send forward to weaken the Humans before we arrive. Zaquash to other Dreadnoughts: launch your fighters now and have your ships start to grow new fighters as well now. We can't look weak to the Minbari. I only wonder now if we should have asked the Oreeni to come as well. They have treaties with the Minbari."

Umtash entered the bridge, glanced at Zaquash, and started to head towards him.

"Your emotions have gotten the better of you, and yes, we should have brought the Oreeni. They too would have seen the true nature of Vorlons. We haven't brought enough fighters to support this type of fighting. We will have to reduce speed to help the ships feed. My reasons are, as ever, for our safety. If we reduce speed and instruct the ships to feed, the ships will propagate faster. By the time we reach our jump location, we will have a fresh batch ready to launch during the fight."

"That's very wise, Umtash. Ship, please make that happen and inform the fleet to do the same. We will launch the next lot of fighters before we return to normal space. Then launch the third batch of fighters and that will give us over all victory in the fight. The children of Vorlon will live and go on forever" Stated Zaquash more to himself than to any other Vorlon.

In total two thousand Vorlon fighters moved through hyperspace. They were all feeding on the energies of hyperspace, making sure they had enough energy for the fight ahead of them. They could sense something strange as the gravity fields in hyperspace and normal space seemed out of alignment. However their sensors couldn't detect anything to explain why this was the case. They grouped together to form a massive jump point.

"All hands, their scout wave is incoming! I repeat their scout ships are incoming! Bring the jammers to full power and set the jump point to a location that takes it further away from Troy Alpha Two" ordered Irons.

"There is a jump point forming in sector five, sir" announced the sensor officer.

"This is Captain Brown to the Yorktown: lock all weapons on the incoming ships and show them what a Griffon class battleship can do." With gun ports all over the place they had weapons for every type of action, especially anti fighter missions.

The Yorktown started to close the gap on the vortex as it started to open. Alpha Troy One started to lay down fire as soon as the first wave of fighters started coming through. The black background of space was lighting up every few seconds with fresh explosions coming from the Vorlon Fighters. That's when the Vorlons got their second surprise. The Yorktown opened fire and took out about two hundred drones in their first salvo.

Admiral Irons was watching the fire fight.

"It's time to send in the drones. Let's give them something to write home about and increase defensive fire around the Yorktown. Inform the Warlocks to move forward now to help protect the Yorktown's flanks from grouped attacks. Start firing missiles and anti graviton torpedoes. I don't want them getting too close."

The Vorlon fighters started to swarm onto the nearest vessels; one of them being the Yorktown.

"Damn, people! Increase energy to the anti fighter weapons and make sure we have reserve power tied into the main shields. We won't survive long if the shields go" Ordered Captain Hondo. "Launch the drone fighters and stand by for manned fighter launchers as well. If these bugs want to fight, then they're going to get one. Where in God's name is our flank screen? They should be here by now."

The powerful squid- like fighter weapons were hitting the extremely powerful energy shields of the Yorktown. The sheer amount of anti fighter weapons firing back from the Yorktown was beyond description. Every ugly squid-like ship was being hit by pulse and beam weapons of different colors and strength. The squid fighters that were attacking the Yorktown started burning up. With the arrival of the EAS Hornet, EAS Exeter, EAS Liverpool and EAS Iowa all four were of the Warlock class destroyers.

The Vorlon squid fighters switched their attack patterns from single fighters to grouped attacks that made it even easier for the warships to take them down. After a few minutes of warships taking the fight to the squids, the Earth drone fighters moved in for the kill, now seeing how they worked and what was best to take them out.

"Sir, the Vorlon fighters have tried to open a jump point two times now and they have failed. Each time they try and fail, they put more power in their jump engines. We have also picked up a transmission from the Vorlons to their main group" announced the sensor officer.

"Well, people, don't just sit there. Get our fighters into those squids before they find a way to get out and fully warn the others about just what we have. Com officer, did the Vorlon signals get through the jammers?" asked Irons in a concerned tone.

"Negative, sir. The hyperspace probes picked up no form of signal but their jammers are running at full power as well" replied the Com Officer, who was now starting to show signs of stress.

The Vorlon fighters were now down to just under a hundred in number, and still they hadn't got close enough to a ship or station to cause any form of damage. Still, they tried to increase speed to dodge the weapons fire that was coming their way, which was too great for them to evade.

The last few Vorlon fighters that were now nicknamed the squids started to group together and then they set a ramming course for the Yorktown. The EAS Iowa, a Warlock destroyer, was finding it hard to keep them back. The EAS Hornet moved in closer to support the Yorktown with their anti fighter defenses and finished off the remaining Vorlon squid fighters.

"Irons to all ships: cease fire and bring the remains aboard the transports. Get those transports out of this system and under heavy escort within fifteen minutes. We are on the clock now. We estimate that it took those fighters nearly twenty minutes to arrive in this system from the time they left their staging area, so move it now. Crew, we have time to run and grab a fast shower and a change of clothes. The Command and control is starting to smell more like a gym than a military command post. All senior officers may go now, but make sure you have filled your replacements in. I'll wait for my seconds to get themselves sorted as we have a long wait. First group, you have thirty minutes to be back. Let's get going." Irons noticed that he was dripping with sweat and realized how bad he was stinking.

The holographic display system came to life and standing on the Command deck were Marshalls Von-der-tan and Trance. Both of them smiled at him.

"Great job, Branko. You certainly showed those fighters what it meant to be hit by a wall made from energy weapon fire" complimented Trance. "We've got a bet going, so tell us at what point you will have the command and control staff relieved to get freshened up."

"It was great fun seeing those squids getting smashed to pieces, even though they take a bigger kicking than the Shadow fighters and they have a better weapon system too. I've already started to rotate my command staff so they can get freshened up" Replied Irons.

"People, we have a job to do. How much notice do you have on the enemy location and them hitting you again?" asked Yetta in a very concerned tone. "On a side note, Trance, you owe me some credits now" teased Yetta.

"We will have twenty three minutes notice, but they haven't entered hyperspace yet and that concerns me. If I had lost transmission with two thousand fighters, I would certainly want to know why, unless they had another force that we hadn't come in contact with yet. That means they have to be in hyperspace at some point, watching and learning from everyone" explained Irons.

"We have more than enough probes in the area. Those squids, as you call them, were smaller than what their main ships were, so I would hope we should be able to see them. Our scanners had the same problem with the Shadow fighters in hyperspace, but we could see their main ships with no problem. In this case, we have their liability in the form of the Minbari as we know they haven't returned to hyperspace yet" stated Yetta. "Trance, what would you do? I don't want to weaken our stand here just in case that is true and they need more than what we can handle. I think it's time to have the reserves brought closer to this area and we know the Passatwar have nearly two decimator fleets in hyperspace searching for possible reinforcements for the Vorlons."

"Sir, sorry for interrupting you, but the enemy fleet has just opened hyperspace windows and all ships have entered hyperspace. They are heading this way. The ETA is twenty three minutes, give or take a few seconds" announced the sensor officer.

"Sound general quarters. All hands, battle stations! Repeat, battle stations!" Irons calmed himself a bit and smiled wanly. "Sorry I didn't have time to shower and change clothes."

"Well Admiral, I didn't want to mention it, but you do look a bit sweaty" smiled Yetta. Trance and Yetta both closed channels before Irons had a chance to reply.

Meanwhile, aboard, the Drakh fleet command ship, the aliens were watching the findings via long range probes that were left behind by their absent masters.

"My friends, do you all see what this brings us? The enemy is attacking our enemies as well, but we can't allow them to survive. We will jump into the battle in the closing moments. That will catch every one of them off balance enough for us to claim victory and get the answers the Master wants and needs" said Klapno.

"I don't wish to seem weak in my thoughts, but will we be able to defeat the winner of the battle? We all know that the number of Vorlon ships alone is a massive threat and could easily wipe us out. We must time this action to the second" injected the Battle master of the Stribe forces.

Just at that second, the view screen lit up and then suddenly went dark. Everyone in the meeting starting trying to look for another feed channel from their master's many probes. They lay low in hyperspace, marking their route.

"This is Councillor Klapno, supreme fleet commander. Launch some unmanned Darts forward in hyperspace to probe the areas in front of us. I want to know what destroyed our master's probes ahead of us. If the Darts find out what it is and it's an enemy force, they have orders to engage them at will. However, they must send the information they have gathered to us first" demanded Klapno. He was dressed like all the servants of the Shadows: in dark grey and black shrouds that had the ability to hide one person from another, making them invisible whenever the wearer wished to be unseen.

"Be at rest, Councilor. The probe Darts have launched. We will soon see what is out there. We have completed the reserve ships the War council has asked for. When the ships have been fully manned, they will launch and we will start producing extra ships."

"Your work is advancing as we planned, Layanto. We won't need more cruisers or carriers, although I believe we will need more Darts. So keep them coming and the masters will be pleased with you and your work that you have done in their name" stated the head of the council.

Layanto bowed his head in acknowledgment and respect.

"If my work helps speed up our victory, then the gods will shine on me one day."

Princess Tzu Yung Khan was sitting on the bridge in the command chair aboard the EAS Hand of Khan; Earths newest class of battleship. The Princess was wearing a long gold tunic; a female version of what the male EA Naval officers wear. She had her hair dyed light brown. It was tied back with a silk head scarf, with gold and diamond hair pins in to help keep her tresses out of her eyes.

Commander Jones sat at his sensor station to the right of the Princess. He was mesmerized by her beauty and never took his eyes off the reflection. All the time he thought how lucky Marshall Trance was to be married to her.

"Commander Jones, what's on the sensors? Do you think it's best that we deploy probes? We know the Takacha will be along this heading, but there's a lot of space out there to cover. I need some options" said Princess Khan with a warm smile on her face, for she picked up on the stray thoughts around her about her husband being so lucky.

"Sir, I don't think we need to deploy probes. We have something coming on our sensors and it's huge. There are a lot of support craft accompanying it. Readings have it loaded with weapons and the computer says they are of Earth origin. That we can't understand, as it's registering an unknown design. There are some strange readings. The sensors have confirmed that whatever it is, it's either about a thousand years old or our dating system is screwy. Some of the readings indicate that they couldn't exist yet" stated Commander Jones.

Everyone on the bridge stopped what they were doing and started staring at Commander Jones, thinking he had lost his mind.

"David, come on. That can't be right. That's impossible. When was the last time you had the sensors checked for problems?" asked Captain Lindsey Tate, dressed in her black uniform with a gold leather belt that had two side holsters as standard. One holster carried the standard issue PPG pistol while the other carried a micro particle pistol that could kill a Shadow with a single shot.

"Captain, I've just run a full diagnostic of the sensors and they have come back clean, running at ninety-nine point eight efficiency. I can make out the size of the massive ship. It's no wonder sensors picked it up so soon. Ma'am, it's over eleven hundred kilometers in length and just over four hundred and fifty kilometers wide and deep. I can say they have a full weapons lock on us, but their weapons haven't charged" announced Jones.

Everyone on the bridge rushed to see the sensor readings for themselves, while Princess Khan sat in her command chair laughing.

"Ma'am, what's so funny? Why are you laughing? Can you read them this far out?" asked Lindsey.

"Yes, Lindsey. I can read them from here and they are mystified as to why we are here and why we were searching for them. One of their crew is relaying my questions to them. These are the people we were sent to search for. We can move in closer to their fleet. Helm, please increase speed to maximum. I want us there ASAP. They want to know if we can help the one that was once called Valen. He was once human. He is no longer fully human. He's been transformed into a Minbari. They mean us no harm as long as we can help their leader. He goes by his Earth name of General Sinclair" stated Princess Khan.

"Commander Graham, please open a channel to the Tidestone System. I want and need answers and I need my Father."

Commander Henry Graham wore a standard Blue naval uniform. It had a golden belt with twin sidearm holsters as well, but in his case, he carried two mini particle cannon pistols. His hair was cut in a buzz cut and his hair color was ash blond.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. There is heavy jamming in between our location and the Tidestone complex. It is making it impossible at the moment to get through to them."

"OK. We'd better open a channel to the Takâcha to see what they're after."

The Takâcha commander opened the channel and greeted the Princess in perfect English. He was a bipedal insectoid with green skin and bulbous green eyes. His head sloped back with a visible brain coated in skin. He had a stubby nose with inflamed nostrils. On the sides of his mouth was a pair of scary-looking mandibles. His and his crew's clothes were all the same; green jackets with gold collars and green trousers with brown belts.

"Greetings Earth Ship. You are a long way from home. You have traveled far like us. We seek a way to make amends to the Zâondar, whom we protect."

An Earth Style Station started to appear behind the task group. "Don't be alarmed, humans. This in your tongue is called Babylon 4, the Minbari Hybrid war ship made by many Ancients for the crimes done by the Vorlons and Minbari. Both have been modified to help make amends to the Zâondar."

"We would like to meet Zâondar. We want to try and make an alliance with you all. We need your help. The Vorlons and Minbari are heading our way, but we have just found out that there is another enemy force in the area. We don't know what is coming, but we have picked up weapons fire some time ago of Drakh origin with another design of weapon being fired" said the Princess

"The Zâondar came looking for us to say they were sorry. We listened and heard the truth. The Zâondar told us to bring him here, as we would be needed now for the greater good. What Zâondar says we the Takâcha do, without hesitation. We are loyal to Zâondar. You will need to have medical people there when you speak to Zâondar or have a strong mind walker with you. On Ende X'Ton many Narn mind walkers lost the last of their kind. We the Takâcha saved them when Zâondar told us to save them" stated Ramde Zarwin.

"Then I would like to meet face to face to seek out a way to help everyone and to get the best results all around. There might be something we could trade. If not trade, we could offer you a place to call home and stay to protect Zâondar, if he wishes to remain with us."

"For the pain and anguish that both the Vorlons and Minbari have done to him, he will stay. So shall we stay. We will learn much from our human friends, and you can learn from us. Make ready to come aboard in twenty of your minutes. Inform us when you're ready to travel to us."

"Computer, transfer all medical information on hybrid humans to sickbay and inform Captain Jessica Marple that she has a medical mystery to solve. I want her best people on it."

"Data secure. Message ready to play… time delayed message from His Majesty, King Antony" stated the computer.

"Computer, play message from my uncle the King."

"Voice print confirmed, Princess Tzu Yung Khan. Message plays as is."

"My dearest Niece, I wish I could have trained you better for this day. Long ago, when I was first crowned King, I was visited by beings we now call Guardians. They sent me back in time to a great war nearly 900 years in the past. There I was met by a hybrid human, who went by the name of General Sinclair. He's from our distant future; from a time after a war with the Minbari. I couldn't do anything to stop the war. For all I knew, it would start a war that wasn't meant to be. However, now that I know what has happened to him, I can't stop it from happening in the future either, so this is now a fixed point in history and we can't tamper with it. He told me what had been done to him. During the Minbari war, his ship was attacked and boarded. Most of the crew were slain by the Minbari. Something was different with Sinclair. The Minbari leader brought his pet on board to mind wipe him. His pet was called a Nakaâleen feeder. They feed on brain waves. After they feed, they leave a person completely mind wiped. The Minbari Shai Alyt mind-wiped a telepath to fully reprogram him to be loyal to the Minbari, in the hopes that he could feed information back to the Minbari warrior caste. After that, he became their pawn and they used him after the war. That is where the Guardians got fuzzy with the information they provided… something about keeping the timeline correct. All the medical information I have on Minbari/Human hybrids has been unlocked for the chief medical officer and her chosen aides for this mission. Niece, I wish you well and do not fail. Use the station to help in your fight." The message ended and faded away.

"Typical, Uncle. I have questions and you have to be elsewhere, but thank you for giving us the heads up on this. Scan for anything that might pose hostile to us."

The Drakh Darts zoomed off from the main Mother ship at a very high speed. They were advancing on the lost sensor probes of their Shadow master. One of the probes exploded in a bright light. The others started to move in on the lost probe's location when their sensors picked up a ship that dwarfed the Drakh mother ships.

Aboard the Vorlon last prototype super weapon ship in hyperspace was the ship's commander Hatshan, a low level Vorlon but a high ranking military specialist.

"Fire the lightning cannons on those Drakh Darts. They can not leave this location alive. Start jamming their signals. They can't be allowed to inform the others of this weapon of last resort. Order the Dreadnoughts to engage them and follow them back to their base of operations and eliminate them all" ordered Hatshan, who was Zaquash's great grandson. Hatshan wore a different color Vorlon encounter suit. His was of red, green and yellow markings, showing he was a high ranking special project specialist in the Vorlon military.

The command deck of the Last Weapon was huge; like nothing seen before. The command deck stretched some six hundred meters in width and one hundred meters in length. There were organic stations scattered all over the bridge and each station was manned by a floating Vorlon in their true form. To the side of each Vorlon stood an environmental suit, in case the Minbari were forced to take passage aboard the vessel. The walls of the command deck were like all things Vorlon; they looked organic in nature. Some had brown and white colors while others were green and purple.

The ship was angry at the thought of a race of Shadow Thralls daring to attack the Universe's ultimate weapon of mass destruction. With each hit it took, it became more and more angry. This caused the rate of weapon fire coming from the behemoth to increase, making the small, agile and nimble Dart Fighters to lose their effectiveness. With the Darts starting to lose cohesion, they were finally destroyed. They had no time to make an escape.

The Drakh Fleet council was watching their Fighters getting destroyed one by one.

"This can't be happening, councillor Klapno! Your Dart Fighters should be able to take down a Vorlon Warship" said Strenokil, as he slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

"Yes, we saw the same footage as you did. I still can't believe the Vorlons have such a large ship being in this area at the same time as their fleet marches on the Humans. The only thing I can think of is that their fleet is a decoy that is going to clean up the Human bases to their rear area first" Replied Klapno.

"That doesn't matter, for we have to stop that and the Humans" stated Zamoret

"We have to make sure these pesky Humans can find a way to defeat that behemoth or we will be forced to engage it. I don't think after witnessing what we just did that we would have enough ships to do it. However, in time, we might just have the numbers now that our mother ships are now producing Dart Fighters only. Give us five days and we could take it down." replied Klapno, rising to his feet as he made that proud and powerful statement.

Princess Tzu Yung and her royal guards had just landed in the hangar bay of the Ende X'Ton as she looked around. She could see human markings and the Earth Alliance symbol for the Black Guard.

"Delegation, I should remind everyone that we are here to find allies and to search out the one in my uncle's message, General Sinclair."

The doors opened and in walked Ramde Zarwin.

"Greetings, my Human friends. I never knew until this day if Zâondar was insane or if his stories were true. He told me how he looked before the Minbari had altered him through pain and cell regeneration methods. What they did was considered by us to be torture, but enough of that. Princess, I will take you to his sleeping chamber. May I ask a question? Is it true that your species have a lot of high level telepaths and your royal family levels are even higher?"

"Yes, it's all true, and I can sense the Narn Telepaths from here. I can also sense the pain the General is in, even though he is asleep, or should I say in a coma. I must agree that would be the best thing as the flashes I'm getting now from him are unreal, but I will sort them out so he can do his job."

They walked in silence through the corridors. The walls all had various artworks and writings on them. Each corridor that brought them closer to Zâondar's resting location, the wall art turned to writing on top of writing. One word, Zâondar, was repeated over and over again.

They all entered a room that had candles burning all over the place. The smell of smoke and candle wax hit as soon as the door opened to let them all enter. There in the centre of the room was a clear glass cabinet and inside it stood a motionless Minbari with a pole at one side and a hand gun at the other. He wore a long black jacket that had shoulder pads that had spikes on them. His trousers were made of the same material and had the same color. He wore black boots. Zarwin moved over to a control panel and looked around.

"Make sure you are ready to calm him down. He will start to scream and he may even try to rip off his own face as it reminds him of what they did to him" Princess Tzu Yung Khan looked at Zarwin and nodded to let him know she was ready.

Within seconds of the sleeping unit being turned off, Zâondar sat up screaming.

"Why have you awakened me? Just look at what the Minbari and Vorlons have done to me! I did their work then they turned on me and my family. Just look at me! I'm no longer Human. I'm a creature to be hated!" Zaondar moved his hands to his face and started to dig his finger nails into it.

"Now General Sinclair, is that the way you treat a member of the royal household? I'm so ashamed of you." Before Her Highness had a chance to finish, Sinclair spun around and looked and realized he was in a room with Humans once again.

"Princess Tzu Yung Khan you see what they have done to me. Please forgive me of the crimes I have committed against our Alliance. I had no control of my own body."

"Jeff, it's OK. I understand that you had no control over yourself. I can see that and you must now forget what they have done to you for now, until we can heal your mind and body at the same time. We need your help and that of your allies as well."

"Your Highness, you have no need to ask for my help. My guards and I stand ready to help. Which force would you like me to move onto? Would it be the main Vorlon and Minbari fleet, The Vorlon super weapon ship and its escort or would you like us to engage the Drakh Alliance fleet for you?" Sinclair looked at Zarwin. "Zarwin, my old friend, is the Valen ready for combat and has the armor finally grown in place? What about the main weapon? Does it work?" asked Sinclair.

"Yes Zâondar… I mean Valen… no I mean Sinclair. Your ship stands ready and what you call Babylon 4 stands ready for combat one last time. If she is lost today, then she will have given shelter to so many. We could never repay that kind of honor. Ende X'Ton will not be easily destroyed, even in its present condition. She is very powerful. I hope the ship yards have the ships I had built for us finished. Princess, Earth is using MK6 warships at the moment. Am I correct?"

"Yes, General. We are introducing the MK6 warships now. Why? Is that a problem for you?" asked Her Highness.

"It's not a problem for me and you; just for the ones that wish us harm. Babylon 4 is fitted with large scale ship yards and it should be full with MK6 warships of every type in service now or I hope it's MK6 vessels I had started to build for today."

"Jeff, it looks like you're in control for now. I hope the mental blocks we all placed deep in your mind will keep you focused on the goal you want. You can tell us what you want at the end of this. All you need to know is that you will only head back to Earth if you wish to head back, and that goes for you too, Zarwin and your other guests as well. Then I think we should get to our chosen vessels and stand by to send who or what we meet to the depths of madness from where you came back to us from."

Twenty minutes later, the Royal Transport was docking once again aboard the Hand of Khan.

"It looks like we have a lot of work to get ready for. Everyone to your duty stations. I've got to head to my quarters to see what's happening."

Meanwhile Admiral Irons was starting to do his clock watching thing once again.

"People, have we located them yet?"

"Negative sir, but we have got automated probes all the way to their jump location and we have sensor readings coming from normal space. They haven't jumped as of yet. That must have been some form of decoy to see what we would do" replied Commodore Williams.

"Sir, we have a video feed coming in from the Hyperspace probes. They have readings on several hundred jump points forming and vessels entering hyperspace. There was a flash of light and the probe that was transmitting went dead. It looks like the baby squids have bigger brothers and sisters and they have something even bigger but there's only fifty of them. I hope that won't be much of a problem."

"Ma'am, we are picking up the Earth location signal from the Hand of Khan. It's slightly to port and it won't create a major change in course."

"Thank you, David. We'd better hail them and find out what Her Highness is doing this close to the battle lines."

"Commodore Susan Storm of the EAS Harpanguer, please respond. Repeat please respond. This is Her Royal Highness, Princess Tzu Yung Khan."

"Open a channel to her, please." As the communications officer complied, Susan spoke into the grid. "Yes, your Highness, I'm here. How can I help? I was just about to hail you. We are approximately thirty minutes away at present speed, but we can get there earlier if you need us to."

"I understand that you were sent to engage the Drakh Alliance fleet. Is that correct?"

Susan just nodded in agreement while the Princess continued.

"Well my dear Susan, I think we are going to come with you, or I should say we will arrive there just after you do. All we ask is to please leave some for us; don't destroy everything. We have orders for some of the ships back home."

"Understood, Your Highness. We will obey your orders."

The Drakh alliance fleet was fast running out of time. Babylon 4, Takâcha escort and the Hand of Khan were on a semi intercept course. Unbeknownst to both sides, the advantage quickly faded away and spelled complete and utter destruction for the Drakh.

Meanwhile, the last five minutes aboard the Troy Alpha Two was full of panic. Officers were shouting over the voices of others and all the time each and every one of them asked the same question: "Shouldn't they have come within range of our mid range or even short range hyperspace probes by now?"

"Com, open a channel to our hyperspace Guard Battle Stations and invite them to launch as many extra probes as they can and send them in all directions. Then open another channel and find out if we could open multiple jump points to launch hyperspace sensor probes. We need this intelligence, people. Send that information to the department heads" ordered Irons in a worried tone.

Irons was starting to sweat. That was something of a nervous thing that made him want the answers faster than they were coming his way. He glanced across to the digital wall clock that was now flashing 10 minutes and 13 seconds.

"Until we find these ships, I don't want to call in our reserves, so each of you keep your eyes on the sensors. As of now this is a no noise zone, except for vital information. Follow your training. We will find those vermin somehow."

Meanwhile aboard the Storm Harpanguer, Commodore Susan Storm was looking rather stressed. She had gone over the data in her head and she knew Irons should have heard something by now.

"Ma'am, one of our probes has just picked up extreme energy weapon discharge in hyperspace. Sensors show two types of weapons fire and one was of Drakh origin" announced Commander Ian Brown as he was sitting at one of the auxiliary sensor stations.

Susan spun around and looked at Ian with venom in her eyes.

"Repeat what you just said, mister, and make ready to launch more probes in that direction."

"Ma'am it's confirmed. It's Drakh weapons fire and the computer has also confirmed via the Kirishic Lords' data file that it's Vorlon weapon fire."

"Can this day get any worse than what it is already? We don't just have the Vorlons and Minbari on our tails. We also have the Drakh and whatever else they have brought with them."

Susan didn't have a chance to continue as Commander Brown's screens started to flash, and then the screens went blank.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to bring yet further bad news, but our day just got a lot bigger and far more complicated than we thought ever possible. I'm putting the image and data on the main screen for you to see now."

Susan turned to look at the screen just like everyone else on the bridge. They all froze in horror at what they saw in front of them. What was on the screen was the Vorlon Last Weapon and its escort of fifty Dreadnoughts. There were smaller craft swarming around all the warships.

"Get me that stuffed shirt Royal Highness on the line, and don't repeat what I've just said."

"Susan, what's up my dear?"

"I just want to ask if you searching for an oversized Vorlon killing machine. If you are, we have found it and we are moving in now to attack it. I just hope we can do something to it."

"Can you kill it? That's the question, and if not, don't be a martyr and take them all on by yourself. We are now four minutes away from you."

Susan came out from her shock very fast.

"Com, open a secure channel to Marshall Von-der-tan and send all this information with it."

A few minutes later both marshalls Von-der-tan and Trance were on screen.

"Well, Susan, it looks like when you go fishing you like to catch something big. On a more serious note, what do we have that can engage that behemoth and those Dreadnoughts?" asked Trance in a worried tone.

"I do have an idea on that front." said Susan. "If my math skills are spot on, and they rarely aren't, we should have some sister ships of the Storm Harpanguer around and under trials by now. Also, we have the very effective Victory class heavy frigates, the Colonel Sheridan class heavy cruisers and the Bismarck class battleships. Those are just from my very own task force. I do think we can destroy those ships and, if we are extremely fortunate, we might capture a few of them and exploit them. I would also request that Fleet Battle Group Delta move in with us so they can have the honor of hunting down the Drakh forces. They should be close by to reinforce my operation if it's needed. We also have the Takâcha and their fleet of goodies and your very lovely wife as well. I'll fill you in on that when we all get back, so keep the doors open for us and the coffee pot hot. We will be needing it."

"Susan, that's ambitious, and I know you have some mighty followers back home. I won't say yes or no until I know what we fully have at this moment in time. I would rather have the Storm Harpanguer class to aid in the fight with the combined Vorlon and Minbari fleets, but at the same time, if that arrives during the battle, we would lose as I would dare place a wager that it could over power our vortex jammers."

Susan looked to her right, making sure that her orders were being carried out to the letter so she had the information before she started up again.

"I'm sorry for that, but looks like you're wrong Susan. You missed the Monitor variant of the Victory class frigate. It has a single super fusion beam that has enough destructive power to crack a small moon. I will give you the mission, Susan, even if we only have five of the Monitor class. Use them as you see best, but don't fail us. I've just handed you all of our latest ships" stated Yetta as she saluted and closed her channel.

Trance looked on in dismay at how their plans were being torn apart.

"No matter, Susan. We both wish you all the best and great fishing. Bring me back that big bad catch so we can study it. It's so I can work through the pain in my rear they've just caused us all." Marshall Trance saluted and smiled and the channel closed.

Yetta was looking at the screen, waiting for Trance to come on line.

"I'm back, Yetta and can I ask how in God's name did you know that big fish was out there? We just heard about it from Susan. For some strange reason, you had us working in those ships for that mission."

"You should ask His Majesty those questions, not me. He might not be here, but by God, I'm following his instructions on ship production to the letter and I'm not altering it now. He never said how he knew, but he knew that we would have a Drakh Alliance fleet out there too. Our orders, as always, are to capture the mother ships so we can convert them into usable mobile ship yards and to send them back to a certain system back home."

"Yetta, I knew they were there. I was told not to reveal that information to anyone, including you, and that came directly from His Majesty. However, within my promotion orders came along the technical readouts of the Drakh Mother ships and how to disable them to shut down life-support, weapons, engines and jump drives primary and secondary systems too. He said he's studied them for years and knows everything about them and how to reprogram them too."

"I bet he didn't say how to do that, did he? If I'm right, that means he will be coming to visit us soon and with what and when I have no idea. Now let's get back to the major problems at hand. All we have to do is engage the Vorlon fleet… that is when they decide to show themselves" stated Trance with serious concerns about what he probably hadn't been told.

Meanwhile, admiral Irons was starting to lose his patience.

"Sir, we have made several attempts at opening hyperspace vortex openings from hyperspace. The jammers have stopped them from forming, but our sensors still can't see what's trying to enter the system."

"Irons to all ships: they have arrived and slightly ahead of time. Fleet wide red alert. Energize all weapons and bring the defense shields to full power and bring secondary, auxiliary and reserve generators online now. Launch all alert ready fighters and bombers. Stand by for further orders." Instructed Irons in his calm battle- ready tone.

"The next time they try to open them, let them in, but in the prearranged location. Fire all missiles from the defense satellites on those co-ordinates now. Allow them to enter the most densely filled area with spatial mines and then detonate them. Make sure the missiles arrive ten seconds after that. Stand by with spatial torpedoes as well. They will launch after the first wave of missiles have detonated" ordered Admiral Irons.

"Sir, all missiles are ripple firing. We will have all missiles in the target zone in forty-five seconds" reported Jessica Holmes, the Troy Alpha Two weapons officer. She had her hair tied back in military fashion, and wore the standard blue naval uniform. Her command bar was that of a lieutenant commander, but she had just been promoted before the Vorlons left their staging ground, so she never hand a chance to change them yet.

"The jump point is forming and the fighters are coming out. Both Minbari and Vorlon fighters are being detected" said a male voice. There was a bright flash of light and the automatic solar screen came online, blacking out the window of the command deck.

"Report!" shouted Irons.

"The first wave of enemy craft has been neutralized and they are now probing for another point to enter the system. I can also report we have located them. They're in some kind of higher state in hyperspace and our sensors were being fooled by it, but they won't be any more, sir" reported Jessica.

"This time, let them probe and enter the system, but at the extreme range of our weapons. As soon as the vortexes open up, fire at them with quantum gravimetric torpedoes. I don't want them to have a chance. I want them exterminated!"

"We have a problem. There is a single vortex opening on top of the station. If we fire torpedoes in it, the shock wave will hit us" announced Captain Sarah Steins, a young African officer who was amazed at her sudden rise through the ranks.

Jessica jumped up and looked at the screen.

"Computer, fire all quantum cannons into the vortex and stand by all particle cannons."

Before Jessica could give another order, seven Sharlin class war cruisers emerged from hyperspace and immediately started to fire on the Troy complex. To the Minbari's horror, their weapons fire was not getting through the Earth defense shields.

Seven more Sharlin class war cruisers entered the open vortex and they ran straight into the quantum cannons and particle cannons' fire that destroyed them all straight away.

"This is Irons. They're firing some kind of neutron based weapons at us, so let's return the compliment and fire all neutron cannons and guns."

"Master, our weapons are having no effect against their shields. What orders do you have for us?"

"Alyt Menrom to squadron: break off and fire all weapons! Maybe one of us will do some form of damage."

Before the Seven Sharlin class could move away, the human station started firing their neutron cannons. They cut through the Minbari shields like a knife through butter. They were hitting the Minbari ship with such strength that all seven vessels only lasted in combat forty-five seconds.

Shai Alyt Branshan stood frozen in astonishment and dismay that his first two waves of ships and been destroyed and half of his fleets fighter wiped out as well.

"I want answers! Get me everything our sensors told us and make a request to the Vorlons to send the next wave of ships. We will support them with six squadrons of war cruisers and all our remaining fighters as well."

"Master, we have no more fighters. We sent all that we had, just like the Vorlons."

"What have we let ourselves into? Stand by to send all remaining ships if this probe mission fails. Can the Vorlons open another Vortex right on top of them again?" asked Branshan anxiously.

"Master, the Vorlons claim the Humans may have strengthened up the jamming barrier. The next wave will have to move further away from their position then all remaining units will converge on them all at once" answered Alyt Draglom, the senior fleet com officer.

"Sir it appears that the Minbari shield system is rather obsolete compared to ours. I had an idea that it was like it was in the Centauri system. When they used it, only our neutron weapons could damage them. No matter the strength of the neutron cannons they went through it easily, but the Centauri couldn't fire themselves."

"That's a great idea. Inform the fleet. When firing on Minbari ships, only fire with neutron based weapons as they will go straight through their shields. Yes, I'm fully aware that our other weapons would punch a hole in their shields as well. I just want to make it look like lucky hits. Keep the faster charged weapons for the Vorlons and keep the fighters out on patrol" ordered Irons.

Zaquash gasped in amazement that a young race could destroy not one but fourteen Minbari war cruisers with such ease.

"How long until we have more fighters? Our Minbari children lost their fighters and we lost our second wave of fighters. Can we engage them without fighters?"

"Yes, Great One. We can fight them and destroy them without the need for support craft. We just need to find a way to get past their vortex jamming system" replied one of the Vorlons monitoring the growth of the fighters.

Umtash floated onto the bridge and offered Zaquash a way to try to win the war. Umtash feared becoming a slave to the humans, but for different reasons than Zaquash.

"Zaquash, open a jump point and fire all main guns to clear a path. Then move through and start firing on the humans. I still say we should have left the humans alone and yes I know we won't win as it's written in history and history can't be rewritten to suit the outcome of just one people."

"No, that will waste time and I want them ready for the last weapon ship to arrive. When it does, it will blast away these human bugs and we will put them in their rightful place as toys of the Vorlons. We will follow the Minbari plan and use your very own plan as well. Launch the newly birthed fighters from a third location while all remaining ships will create a fourth location and move through it. The assault fire distraction force will follow the forth group ships into normal space and we will gain control of the battle from normal space. Is there any problem with my orders?" Demanded Zaquash, but no one dared to answer.

"Zaquash, the humans have made it impossible to communicate with the others, but the last time they spoke, they said Drakh fighters had attacked them and they were moving to locate their command ships" stated an unnamed Vorlon, who knew deep down they were making a dreadful mistake that would cost many more lives.

"Phase one, now launch the second wave of probes and stand by assault fire mission. Launch all newly birthed fighters and stand by for phase three" ordered Zaquash.

"Jump points are forming at the edge of the Troy Complex jammers, sir" announced the sensor officer with a nervous tone to her voice.

"Did you say they opened it up themselves or did we redirect them to that position?" asked Irons.

"They opened it themselves, sir."

"All outer satellites, fire on those ships when they come to bear. Repeat fire as they do. Stay sharp, people. If you see a jump point forming, don't wait for orders. Just fire every torpedo we have."

Irons glanced down and saw two new jump points forming and torpedoes were being fired on both sets of Vortexes.

The second scout group hadn't even fully crossed the vortex horizon when they were being hit with particle cannons. The Vorlon heavy cruisers suffered the same fate as their escorting Minbari warships, but they took several hits to destroy them. That brief fire fight cost the lives of the crews of three Earth Alliance Frigates that were out of place and were hit by the Vorlons' heavy weapons. The weapons fire from the vortex caught another thirty eight ships off guard, but luckily they were only crippled.

The Troy complex was taking some rather serious hits from the Vorlon cruisers, who decided to fire from Hyperspace in the hopes they could bring it down. That vortex didn't last long as the torpedoes were traveling through the vortex and detonating in the hyperspace bubble. With so many torpedo explosions coming through, a shock wave traveled back through the vortex, damaging a further two hundred and nine Earth class ships of different designs, also causing some damage to the Troy complex shields, dropping them to forty-three percent of maximum strength.

The Next Vortex window started to open up straight away as the last remaining fighters came through into normal space.

The Vorlon Squid Fighters and arrived in one of the massive staging areas for Earth's drone fighters. Both forces started to dance around each other. Every now and then there was an explosion of an Earth fighter, but within seconds, three or four Vorlon Squids would explode. That dance of the fighters was in the odds of Earth as there were over two hundred thousand drones in that area, giving the Earth Fighters an incredible advantage. That was fast proving the down fall of the Vorlons.

By the time Zaquash and Branshan had both rallied their forces and jumped out of their protected bubbles, they tried opening vortexes to different locations, but no matter where they tried, they all seemed to gather in one location.

"How can these primitive apes have such technology? That technology, until now, belonged to the Kirishic Lords. All weapons, fire! We will destroy them one ship at a time if we must, but we will destroy them."

All of a sudden thousands upon thousands of particle cannons fired in a sweeping motion to cripple as many enemy ships as they could in reaction to the Vorlons firing on the Yorktown and her escorts and destroying them all.

About five kilometers behind, the Enemy fleet opened up two more Vortexes and this time the EAS Von-der-tan and the EAS Tzu Yung Khan both merged into normal space.

The Particle cannon strike crippled all of the remaining Minbari Ships and destroyed all the remaining Vorlon heavy and light cruisers, leaving just three undamaged Vorlon Dreadnoughts. The other forty that were in normal space were crippled and adrift. The remaining seven dreadnoughts had been destroyed before they had a chance to escape their protective bubble. It became their prison in the end and then finally their tomb.

It was a well planned strike from both the EAS Von-der-tan and EAS Tzu Yung Khan. They linked their systems with the Troy complex, just in time to watch the three Vorlon cruisers fire once again and this time against the Troy complex. All the Earth Fire linked energy dampening cannons and neural inhibitor cannons fired. Each one fired on a different ship. They caused a pulse wave effect that drained the remaining dreadnoughts of power and crippled the Vorlons aboard and those floating in space.

"Marshal Von-der-tan to all ships: start a rescue mission and keep the Vorlons on their own for security risk assessment. Send the injured Vorlon and Minbari to high security med lab facilities. Send out life boats and rescue craft to our own damaged and destroyed vessels."

"Trance, this is Admiral Irons. Damage report, please."

"Marshal Trance, we have some serious damage. That attack of theirs burnt out most of our defense grid so we can't handle another attack at the present. We have damage control parties out doing what they can. Most of our hangar bays and ship slips bay doors have been jammed in the closed setting. I've been informed it will take about five to six weeks to fully repair all the damage if not longer."

"Well, the only thing I can say to is you did it, Admiral. You really didn't fall for their tricks. I'm glad we placed you at the right place at the right time again."

"Helm, full power to engines now. We have to make sure we don't get hit again. Stay in tight against the Drakh cruiser and break fire. All forward particle cannons at the closest Vorlon Dreadnought" ordered Commodore Storm.

"Storm, this is Sinclair. Don't stay in so close to the Drakh. They will turn on us soon enough."

The EAS Tzu Yung Khan was loaded with fifty forward and aft facing twin heavy particle cannon turrets. Princess Tzu Yung Khan started to smile and laugh.

"I can see why my uncle loves wars and fighting. It's such an adrenaline rush. Helm, slow us down and increase power to shields. I want time to target our next strike. Our next victims this time won't know what hit them. Run the particle cannons at full strength and fire. Helm, increase speed and roll us to starboard hard to port and kill them."

The Takâcha were tearing the Drakh Alliance to bits, knowing full well that Earth wanted to study as much of the alien ships as possible. Babylon Four moved into the battle. Babylon Four started to open fire at slow speeds at first; then as they got closer, they were firing in solid walls of energy weapon fire. Ramde Zarwin started to laugh.

"Ende Xâ'Ton may be old, but she can still fight like the first day she came to us carrying Zâondar."

"Bring the tractor beams up to full power and fire EMP cannons at all Drakh mother ships. Fire now before they have a chance to move away. Then target the Stribe and Vorlon surviving ships with neural dissipater cannons."

"Zarwin, look at those three ships. They dance and shoot like they live to fight. At the speed they are killing the enemy, our own forces will not even be needed" stated Darwin's second in command

The Drakh started to realize that the Humans were going to win and they had already lost seventy three of their mother ships. The Drakh fleet was starting to lose their grip on their ship commanders.

When the Vorlon super weapon exploded, the remaining Vorlon ships stopped firing and started to drift. Knowing the fate of the other Vorlons, they decided to surrender. The Vorlons' last act of aggression was to destroy the Drakh mother ship that held their Alliance fleet council leaders. That forced the Drakh Alliance to fully surrender as well.

"People get those Vorlons aboard Babylon 4 before they realize what's happened and they've lost" ordered Sinclair.

"Princess Tzu Yung Khan to Marshall Trance: come in my husband. We have found both Vorlon and Drakh Alliance fleets and they have both been neutralized. Only three ships engaged until our big surprise showed herself and helped bring down the Vorlon super weapon. We do have plenty of debris to figure out what it could do. Hope you didn't get injured. We will head to you very soon. Expect us when we arrive and make sure Earth has been informed that all is well."

"My dearest, I'm glad you're safe. We are in the clean up stages here. Your father wishes you to contact him. He didn't realize you were commanding a war ship in battle. The main questions are how are the prisoners doing and will Sinclair be able to make a full recovery?"

It was five weeks later and still the Vorlons were unconscious. The Minbari had heard that Valen had returned to pay them back for the crimes they did to him. Each and every Minbari slowly started to feel grief for the action that their clans had done to him. He saved everyone from the hands of the Shadows, and when he could do no more they turned on him and his family, killing his wife and several of their children. The loyal and faithful were themselves betrayed, and they lost great power. The faithful few protected Valen's remaining family and they fled to the Takacha.

Sinclair woke up in med lab in cold sweats, screaming out the name of his dead wife and his dead children.

"Please, I know I wanted to be made human again, but I think staying as I am will give us power over these Minbari as they will try and atone for the crimes done to me. It's a very long story and not even the Grey Council was told it all." Sinclair made himself more comfortable and closed his eyes to clear stray thoughts and emotions from his mind.

"I remember all what they did to me. They trained me how to fight and to show no fear to combine all the traits that were needed. The Vorlons had modified the Nakaleen feeder. Before I was given to that "pet", I was given over to an Abbott that read my mind and recorded everything. That is how I'm the way I am now. Not all Vorlons are nasty. Some are kind but others have only hatred of the younger races in their hearts. I think I've drifted off subject, so you will have to ask me something. But first, Marshall Von-der-tan, why do I think I know you and you looked after me?"

"Well, Jeff, in another life I did look after you and so did several others; especially when we learned the truth. We did what we could, but we couldn't do more in case it altered the future" replied Yetta.

"How is that even possible that you could do that, Marshall? However, what I really want to know is now that my anger has finally subsided, what will happen to the Vorlons, the Minbari survivors and the Drakh Alliance survivors?"

"Well Jeff, you wanted to be in charge of them. Chose their fate and be careful, as many things in life have a high price; some you can never see until it's too late to fix them."

Jeff looked at the Marshall with a strange sense of awe about her.

"Personally, they wanted to enslave humanity. Why don't we teach them what it means to be slaves?"

"Yes, for some, the rest will have to prove themselves. I say put them through a courtroom to see what lies and truth we can shake loose. Zaquash might even be brave enough to say why he hated humans so much. I tried to warn of this action years ago, but he never listened. In my time this battle is common knowledge. His Majesty King Antony wanted Earth to know what happened and to the Minbari as well. When or if the Vorlons leave the Galaxy, they will come to collect those here. In time, the Minbari will have to be allowed to return to their home world" explained Sinclair.

"If that is what you want, then so be it" replied Yetta.

"There is one other thing. I wish to remain Minbari so I can keep the others in line and when they go back I will take them back and then return here. As I know deep down I will never see Earth again as a human but through the eyes of Valen I can travel there."

"You're still as wise as you have always been, Sinclair. Now go and look into this and make ready the trial of the Vorlons and Minbari."

WITH GREAT THANKS TO MY BETA READER SUSAN HILTON FOR HER HARD WORK TO BRING THE BETA EDITION TO EVERYONE.

AS NORMAL POST OR SEND PRIVATE MESSAGE WITH QUESTIONS, PROBLEMS, IDEAS OR TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHATS STILL TO COME


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 5: THE TRIAL OF SINCLAIR

Rear Admiral Elizabeth Cook was sitting at her office desk in her white overalls. She was looking over all the latest data she had on the field tests of the Hand of Khan and the Storm Harpanguer. Her long black hair ran down her back, loosely tied in a pony tail. Her stray hairs were always getting in the way while she worked.

"Computer, I've just had a marvelous idea. Now that the Storm Harpanguer is in the dock yards once again, I want that engine system installed ASAP so we can run field tests with the new generation of engines. The Fixed Temporal Dimensional engine should increase our ships' speeds by a factor of 100. If all preliminary data is right, the Storm Harpanguer class should be able to exceed the speed of light. But like always, I will hold my questions for the test flight. Set the engine for safe transport to the Storm Harpanguer's slip and increase security. Save note".

Elizabeth was pleased with herself for thinking of that idea. She leaned forward to pick up her crystal glass that held her favorite brand of brandy. She heard a clicking sound coming from her monitor, but thought nothing of it until a moment later.

"Hello, Elizabeth. I hope I didn't disturb you. Good job on getting those ships in service as I requested ...or did I order it?" asked His Majesty, smiling after seeing the admiral's face on the last part of his sentence.

His Majesty looked like he was sitting in his office on Earth, and for a moment, she thought he was. On closer inspection of the glass display cabinet behind him however, she could see he was in fact on his ship in space, but not quite in hyperspace. Antony followed her curious gaze to the display cabinet and smiled. "I won't ask you to guess where I'm at. I'm on my ship in space, but where in space would be a better question to have asked". He was wearing an old fashioned red smokers jacket with crimson satin lapels. Even though he didn't smoke, he always tried to keep up the regal appearance of being a king.

"Sire, it's quite an honor to hear from you, but it's rather late here on Earth. Can I ask what have I done to earn such a rather strange abrupt communication? It looks like you didn't go through normal channels either, and you overrode my personal lockout codes."

"You are very right, Elisabeth. I should have informed you in advance of the breach in protocol, but what I have to say I don't wish others to know. That's another reason I'm in space. It's better to block things when you're blocking everyone." His Majesty answered with a smile.

"What is it you need to ask of me, Sire? It will be my honor to make sure that your wish will be fulfilled." She replied, smiling to herself, thinking back to the test flight mission on board the Throne Ship and knowing that what happened could never happen again.

"Elizabeth, you are among the select few in the recently named Tidestone Galaxy that I can trust with this mission. The Vorlon and Minbari prisoners must go through a trial, but I understand that a general from our not too near future came back in time and saved our lives. He will need to let out of his system all the anger he has and he must choose the path that will save Earth as well as other worlds. I need you to get a JAG court set up and I wish you to be the judge in this case. I can't and won't say or do anything to influence you in these matters." His Majesty started to smirk and chuckle. "Elizabeth, honey, wake up. You're spilling your drink and I hope that's not the really good stuff. If it is, I hope you don't drip any more of it."

Elizabeth realized what His Majesty had just said to her. She then shook her head , raised the glass to her mouth and drank it all, still a little shocked, but realizing that His Majesty had truly trusted her. It was like a dream that she thought she had long ago when remembering that fateful journey.

"Sire, I have heard that this Sinclair fellow fought in a war several hundreds of years ago, and that he was changed and tortured by those he helped. Is that true?" Elizabeth started to move to her casual seat in her office. All the time, the view screen cameras kept up with her.

"I've told you all I should and things that I shouldn't have. Remember your duty. Don't allow rumors to cloud your judgment. You need to follow all possible leads on this and make sure the techs go over every inch of debris so you can find records and data they have on that conflict and time frame" said His Majesty softly. "On another note, good work on that new drive system coming out of your R&D section. So when will we have a working model to be placed in ships for testing?"asked His Majesty.

"I've got the Storm Harpanguer set to get the first prototype model of the light to mid range model. The Hand of Khan will get the middle version to try as we don't have a large scale system ready for testing" answered Elizabeth.

"You have my green light for the testing, as I know you tend to go around channels sometimes. Just don't abuse my trust or I might have to think of ways to get even" joked and smirked His Majesty.

"Well, Sire, I would love to stay up all night and chat about the old days, but I have to get ready for tomorrow ,even though I don't need the rest. I just love to relax and close my eyes and dream. The things people back home take for granted we now class as a luxury. We don't sleep every night now, but you know better than the rest of us about that."

"By all means, Elizabeth please go and sleep and have fun. We can chat another time. I will leave all the data you will need plus written orders to back you up regarding the testing program". His Majesty started to smile again as the view screen went blank.

His Majesty sat back in his leather chair in his office, looking up at the stars outside his window. He was on a return mission from Narn. Antony flicked his computer screen to life and his official duty calendar appeared in front of him.

"Computer, is there any chance that I can get out of any of these state visits and meetings? I don't want to overstay my visit to Brakos, as I normally visit them twice a year. I also have to visit the other governors and I would like to see for myself how Centauri Prime is doing." He paused for a moment. "Speaking of Centauri Prime, I would love all the data we have on the two former protectorate states of the former Centauri Republic as I have some intelligence stating they still fly the flag of the slave masters there."

The computer didn't answer verbally. It just displayed the images of planet Brakos, Centauri Prime and Ikara with a flight plan, starting from Earth heading to Ikara then onto Centauri Prime and a state visit of the full former Republic including their former protectorates and then moving on to Brakos.

"The Earth Governments wish to keep their few alliances going , but they failed to look into your official duty calendar, on which they would have seen you were going to visit the Narn Regime in six months time". Stated the computer.

"Thank you, computer, and please, from this moment in time, I would like to maintain tighter control of my own duty schedule. Inform both Parliament and the Senate of that. Also, Computer, send a high stream temporal tachyon communique to the Tidestone Complex for me. Encode it for both Marshalls Von-der-tan and Trance.

"My dear friends: I would like to bring to your attention the hard work of Vice Admiral Elizabeth Cook: the head of R&D and a field combat specialist. I can't and won't order you to consider her for a promotion, since that's for you both to decide. However, if I were there, I would have her promoted to Rear Marshall once her next assignment is completed. This situation you now have with this Sinclair is a rather strange one for you to be in, but you will find a way out of it in due course. I request that you place Admiral Cook in charge of the JAG Court and please make sure you get the First Ones there and the Guardians. Take care... and by the way, great job on beating that super ship of the Vorlons. I've also uploaded the location I would like those Drakh mother ships sent to. On a sub note, I've given Admiral Cook permission to upgrade the engines of the Storm Harpanguer and the Hand of Khan when they go for repairs from that invasion force you dispatched with such great skill."

Several Days later, Yetta was awakened from a very deep sleep by the sound of the computer. "You have a message from Earth, Marshall Von-der-tan. It's stamped with the office seal of His Majesty, King Antony".

Yetta rolled over with a slight groan, picked up a glass off her side table and flung it at the wall, smashing it into a thousand pieces. "I hope that hurt, computer. I'm positive you do this to me just to see me bang my head. Luckily, I was in the middle of my bed this time" she stuck her tongue out at the computer screen just for kicks. "Display message." The screen in front of her changed to His Majesty, sitting behind his desk. Yetta looked at the screen "Computer , play message". As the message played away ,Yetta headed to her utensil cupboard to get a sweeping brush and a dust pan to get the glass shards. Yetta paused and turned around, looking at the screen. "Computer, display the co-ordinates His Majesty has sent us and display their deployment and final location layout." She looked at all the data intently. "Wow, it looks like they're going around the borders of the Brakiri Protectorate zone. It's a shame we didn't have more of them. I could have found a role for them better than being placed as sentry outposts along remote frontiers. Computer, display all the data we have on Admiral Elizabeth Cook and show when she was due for her last promotion. I also want to know what history she has of running a JAG court" The computer displayed the information Yetta had asked for. She found that she was due for a promotion, but there was a lack of places for her to be promoted to, other than to the Royal Guard, which she turned down.

"Computer, did Admiral Cook state a reason why she would refuse such a position after she served as His Majestie's Second of Personal Security for nearly 40 years? That's a mystery for another day and time. Send a message to Admiral Cook, requesting her presence for a meeting in my office at 11:00 hours with Marshall Trance and me, and forward that to Marshall Trance as well."

Elizabeth had just finished her morning exercise routine and was heading for the shower when her morning wake up alarm went off. "I knew I forgot something. Computer I'm awake, dammit! Turn it off now!" Elizabeth had foolishly set the system for loud to make sure she woke up.

Elizabeth walked over to the shower unit, turned it to her normal settings, slipped out of her robes and entered the shower. Within minutes of entering the shower, her personal com link started up. She turned the shower off and all she could hear was the incoming beep for a message. She ran to the video screen, forgetting to pick her robes up. At first, she thought it was for a recorded message only. Boy was she wrong. What made her feel even more embarrassed was that it was Marshall Von-der-tan, sitting at her desk.

"Elizabeth….. Whoops I guess that's my fault for hacking your com system. Sorry about that. I want to see you later in my office, but please remember to put some clothes on. I think I've seen enough of you that way" smiled Yetta.

"Sorry, Ma'am. I didn't think. I just ran." She leaned over and grabbed a throw from her sofa and wrapped it around herself, covering everything.

"I was going to get Marshall Trance to contact you, but that wouldn't have done him any good. Nor would it you, especially with him being married now. I'll let you in on a secret, Elizabeth. His Majesty did that to me during my days on the Throne Ship. He thought something had happened, and, well, he got a view of me I wish he hadn't. However, I'm too old to care about things like that now."

"Thanks, Ma'am. That makes me feel slightly better regarding this, but will I be able to look you in the eye the same way again?"

"Yeah, I suppose in time I will forget, but you do have three very nice tattoos. I wonder who they were for."

"Well ,Ma'am, I wish I could say, but I won't and can't ,so please don't ask or even order me to tell you, as I won't feel right to have to disobey you. It's for my love; that's all I will say. I know he once felt the same way, but life goes on."

"I was getting in touch because we hadn't heard back from you, but I guess you have been hitting the gyms a bit lately. Elizabeth, we all have skeletons we don't want others to know about, but we all know they are there".

"Don't worry, Ma'am. I will be there. I've been supervising the engine upgrade program as we never got them fitted for the fights."

The screen went black and Elizabeth started to head back to the shower. She let out a scream and her arms moved with such speed she was pulling her hair at the same time.

Sinclair was sitting in his quarters that was larger than what he was used to. Even though he was a general, he served aboard ships all his career, apart from when he was posted to Babylon 5. His room in which he was sitting had three single leather chairs and a large fourteen person L shape sofa with a coffee table in front of it. The table stood on top a sheep skin rug. The whole room had solid wood flooring; it had the look of oak. Sinclair wasn't too sure what kind of wood it really was. Opposite the sofa on the wall was a massive flat screen monitor. His room was aboard the Tidestone Complex. He thought he was under house arrest at one point in time. Sinclair sat wondering how much longer the medical staff would take. There was a knock at the door that brought Sinclair back to the here and now, from his nightmares of yesterday.

"Enter" he stated. The door opened. Standing at the threshold were several military doctors, all dressed in the Blue and Green Earth Force uniforms and with the gold medical symbol on their chests. "Please, come in." instructed Sinclair.

First to walk in was a Human male of about thirty years of age, but he seem to carry the weight of the world on his rather broad shoulders. He wore a medical hat like the others, hiding the color of his hair, but his eyes looked like they were of a smoky grey. His skin tone was that of a slightly tanned Caucasian. "Greetings, General Sinclair. I'm Colonel Shepherd. I'm the lead doctor on your case." He spoke with a very broad Welsh Accent.

Four others entered Sinclair's quarters as well, but none of them spoke much. They just sat there listening and nodding in agreement and occasionally in disagreement. Three of the four that came in were females. One of them was Human, two were Ralgan's and the fourth was a male Ikarian male.

"General Sinclair, we have a slight problem that time will help us fix. At the moment, you have us beat as to how you were transformed into a hybrid Minbari. You have each and every one of us working around the clock to find a way to remove the hybrid genetic DNA from your body."

Sinclair just looked and froze in consternation. Then, slowly turning to face them all, he glared at their smiling faces. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO REMOVE THE HYBRID DNA FROM MY BODY?" shouted Sinclair.

"We are so deeply sorry for the bad news, sir. The only good news is that we now have Vorlons and Minbari and we hope they will help in time" stated Shepherd rather contritely.

Sinclair sighed and smiled, placing his hands on his hips.. That caused everyone to grit their teeth and to quickly move their hands to cover their ears, expecting another outburst. But Sinclair just sat there smiling, and then he started to laugh. No one could figure out what was so funny.

"Well, gentlemen, it looks like we have a court hearing soon and then the trial. I hope justice will be served and I will ask for them all to be spared so they can help find a way to remove that damned hybrid DNA."

"General, I've been asked to pose this question: In the future, will you look back on this day and think why I pushed to remove the hybrid DNA? Would you ever even slightly think about changing your mind?" Asked Shepherd, who was running a slight telepathic scan to see the real reasons.

"No, there is no reason what I can think of that would make me change my mind. However, you never know what others might throw at me. Doctors, you should speak to the Minbari and see if they know about the trials of Valen. I was told long ago that it had two meanings like I had two halves and there must be a trial about me. By the way, Shepherd... has your scan found anything? Am I telling the truth?" laughed Sinclair.

"No, General. I was told to scan you gently. I didn't run a deep scan."

"Whatever they did to me, I do know straight away when any scan is run on me. It's a Minbari thing I guess, Colonel."

"Yes, you're very right there, General. In some cases, they even managed to throw us out of their minds, but it took a lot out of them."

"I have to say the Council of Ten have given us all the help we could ever had thought possible. Now we just have to see how best we can use them. General, I didn't realize the time and how long we have been here. I'm Sorry, General. We will have to leave."

They all stood and bowed respectfully to the General and started to head for the door. Shepherd opened the door and stepped aside to let the others through. Then, when the last of them were out in the corridor, he stepped through and closed the door behind him.

Admiral Elizabeth Cook stepped out of the lift and walked along a practically featureless short corridor with tiled floors and white walls and ceiling. Elizabeth turned right into a small waiting area. On the left side of the room was a Human male of African descent, who was wearing the Black uniform of intelligence and special ops. The Officer sat behind a solid wood desk. He was hard at work, but when he realized he wasn't alone, he looked up from his desk.

"Can I help you? Do you have an appointment? The people in that office do. If you do, with whomever that may be, if I may ask? I'm Captain Steven Mandela of the Royal Guard."

"Yes, I'm Rear Admiral Elizabeth Cook. I'm here to see Marshall Von-der-tan and Marshall Trance."

Captain Mandela jumped to his feet and gave Elizabeth a quick salute.

"At ease, Captain. I bet you're glad you didn't have to use that pistol under the table. You dropped it, standing up so fast." Elizabeth observed, seeing the Captain look down. To his dismay, he saw that his pistol wasn't on the floor. He glanced up at Elizabeth.

"Don't worry. I had that job too, but it was for His Majesty many, many years ago." She smiled. "You have hope. I'll give you that much."

"Take a seat, Admiral and I will inform the Marshalls that you have arrived."

Elizabeth started to head for a cloth covered chair that looked like it had seen better days. The flower print was wearing away in some places and the edges of the fabric were fraying. Elizabeth glanced over to see the Captain whispering into his com system, informing the Marshalls that she had arrived.

"Admiral, you may go in now. They are now both ready for you now."

Elizabeth stood up and walked to two old fashioned solid oak doors with wrought iron hinges and handles on it. The door opened with such ease it seemed like the door was made from card stock. Once the door got past a certain point ,it started to creak, further revealing its age, forcing Elizabeth to cringe as she walked into the room. Captain Mandela jumped up from behind his desk and moved to the door. "With your leave, Admiral, I will close the door for you". Once the door was closed, Elizabeth started to feel a little like a school girl, going to the principal's office for being naughty.

The room was rather darkly lit, giving the room a rather more fearsome look than it really had. On the ceiling was a painting of the battle of Tempest Hills: the battle that introduced the floating air battle platforms called the flying Fortresses. Around the walls were pictures of other military firsts of the modern age. The room was filled with wooden desks and benches and at the foot of one of the tables sat the two Marshalls.

"Relax ,Elizabeth. You're not here to get blamed for anything; far from it. You're in fact here today to save the day again". Stated Marshall Trance. "Elizabeth, we would love you to sit closer by so we don't have to shout at you" requested Yetta.

"That's not a problem. I'm just wondering why I've been summoned here today in the manner I have, that's all." Elizabeth started to walk closer to the head of the table, noticing that the table had been set for a conference that she wasn't aware of.

After a few moments, Elizabeth reached her chosen chair and sat down, only moments later to see her name engraved on the placing for that location. "Ma'am, sir, this can't be right. It says Marshall Elizabeth Cook I'm just a Rear Admiral. There has to be some kind of mistake."

"My dear, that's quite correct. However, the official ranking of you as a Marshall all depends on the outcome of a certain court case that we understand you are fully aware of. The Trial of General Sinclair is the one, but for reasons of state security, it's been called the Trials of Sinclair."

"You will have all the information we can give you, Elizabeth. You can brush up on the case if you wish, or you can wait to hear what's brought up in court and what's not. You will have full control of the proceedings and for the case there will be two commodores or above assigned as secondary Jag judges." said Trance

"Elizabeth, His Majesty has placed you in charge as head JAG Judge. There will be two others as well. The first will be Marshall Rickman and the second is Commodore Linda Styles. We don't know why these two have been picked to chair the case with you, but it's how it's been set by His Majesty. But Elizabeth, it's not going to be your every day trial. In it, we will find out all that we can about why the Vorlons needed a human. Also it's to see if he can help us prepare for what's still to come." saidYetta, smiling all the time while looking at one of the walls with an unknown war painting on it.

Sinclair was in his sitting room seated in one of the single leather chairs, looking at the book case when he smiled to himself. "Computer, who placed these books in this room? Was it just a random choice or a random fate that I got this room?"

"All books but one were chosen randomly, and the non- random book is the complete works of Tennyson. That was placed here on the instructions of His Majesty."

"When did His Majesty state that certain book was to be placed in this room? Was it upon my arrival or was it at a different time? On another note, is there any word on this trial? I keep hearing about it and what it's meant to be for."

"The information regarding that book came after you arrived and was ordered to whatever room you would be assigned to. Regarding the trial, there is no outstanding information at the moment, except that it will not be a normal trial acting on a criminal trial in military or civilian court rooms."

Sinclair sat back in his chair, smiling to himself and then leaned forward and picked up a glass of water. He started to sip it while pondering on all the events he knew about.

Five days later, while Sinclair was eating his midday meal, a knock at the door startled him and brought him to the here and now. Sinclair walked over to the door and looked at the security camera screen for the door. In front of the door stood eight security guards armed with rifles.

"General Sinclair, we know you are there. Please open up." ordered the lead security officer.

Sinclair was snickering while watching the screen. He walked in front of the door and pressed the button to open it. The sudden opening of the door revealed to them a Minbari who was wearing an Earth Force uniform and that of a high ranking General.

"Now boys and girls, how can I help you? I was just eating my midday meal." asked Sinclair, watching each of them to see if there would be any type of reaction.

"General ,I'm Captain Susan Howard, and we are your personal guard. We are deeply sorry, but you will have to come with us now. We will inform the kitchens in the assembly sector to make you a meal. Your trial that you have wished for has finally arrived. General,you will be seated with the prosecution team. We have been informed that the Vorlons and Minbari both have separate defense teams."

Susan looked out of place for a security officer ,even though she wore the standard Earth Force colors. Susan's staggering presence set waves of chills down his body; not from fear, but pride that a single Human soldier could do this to him. Her hair was cut short and made her slim body and her 6 ft 3 inch height look more formidable than she really was.

"Don't be scared ,General. Nothing will happen while we are around . We are the best of the best and we have been assigned to escort you to the courtroom. I must inform you that it's not a typical one. The construction workers didn't put too much thought into the need of such a room, so we have converted a briefing hall that hadn't been used in a while."

"Yes, yes Captain, as long as I have my day in court and the truth of the crimes that have been committed against me and Earth will be known." Smiled Sinclair, all the time blocking his mind to his new body guards.

"General, you may continue blocking our minds, but during the trial, if you give evidence, you must allow us to scan you and all the telepaths in the room so we get a feeling to what you went through". Explained Susan. "It may seem a rather strange way to hold a trial, but it's faster and a much smoother way to do it. Because so many people have so many wavering views, it makes their hind site clouded." Stated Susan, looking proud of herself that she dressed down the General without doing so.

They started to walk down the long white corridor to the lift junction at the end. Two of the security personnel moved forward, to be greeted by another twelve security officers. The two security officers that moved ahead to check the route turned and waved the remaining six security guards and the general down to them.

"General, as I said , you are in very safe hands. My eighteen man squad is here. I would like nothing more than to introduce you to all of them, but there will be time over the next few days or however long this lasts. This is Ranger Squad One. If you need to call for help, I'm the Ranger leader."

"I'm to be protected by the Rangers once again. That's cool. Well at least I'm not Ranger Na any more" thought Sinclair.

The three JAG judges were all seated in the back room. It was hastily filled with all types of law books, new and old. The administrators had made sure they covered ,or tried to cover, every possible angle.

The room was once a library, so three of the four walls had floor to ceiling solid wood shelvings in them. The floor was made of white marble stone tiles and in the centre of the room lay a huge Persian rug. On top of the rug was a large, impressive stately English oak table. In the center of the table were five golden platters. Each platter held a full range of crystal decanters. Each decanter had a different colored fluid inside. The fluids ranged from water to fruit juices and from wine to vodka. On the wall that didn't have any shelves, there was a stone fireplace that was made out of different colored marble sections.

In the hearth was a small freshly lit fire. One of the four logs in the hearth was burning, and it was slowly spreading within its confines. As the fire grew, so did the heat coming from it. To the left side of the fire was a brass log bin that held approximately thirty logs. To the right of the fire was the scuttle and other tools for the fire.

Set back from the fireplace were five high backed leather arm chairs. At the side of each chair was a small side end table. Above the fireplace hung a wall picture of the first supreme high court judge of Earth, Lord David Haswell. The picture dated back to the mid twentieth century. The picture was of Lord Haswell, standing in front of a window with an open fireplace behind him, the logs ablaze. The room in the portrait was a full replica of the original, except in this room there was no window. Lord Haswell wore a red cloak of high office with a blue and gold shawl, and ,of course, he wore his white wig.

The door swung open and in walked the three JAG Judges. The first person in to the room was Marshall Rickman. He was followed by Commodore Linda Styles and then finally by acting Marshall Elizabeth Cook. All three of them were wearing the same outfit. They wore deep red robes with red trousers and white shirts, with blue gold sashes around their necks and their traditional white wigs. The only difference was that they all wore their rank badges on their left sides over their chests.

Rickman looked around the room then smiled. "Has anyone ever been in a court room back home? I can only speak for myself, as I've served as a JAG Judge twice now and this rear room is always the same. I think it's some form of tradition. We don't hold a full JAG staff anymore. By the way, Elizabeth, congratulations on your promotion."

"Thank you ,Marshall Rickman. I understand that you to have also been promoted to fleet marshall. What I don't understand is how I'm in charge of this. It is you who has the experience in this field. I know I certainly don't." said Elizabeth modestly.

"I was once asked to serve on a JAG Council once, but it was cancelled because the person confessed and pleaded guilty. Our presence as jurors was no longer needed. I felt sorry for the telepath that was scanning the perpetrator. She died with what was inside her mind ,but they got the information. That's why there must be multiple telepaths scanning them all the time and there can be no blocking. Anyone who needs a block must have a guard do it for them during the court case." said Commodore Linda Styles.

"Wow, Linda. I never knew that you were involved in that case. Weren't you back then assigned to intelligence before your transferred to fleet command? If I remember correctly, you had a high rank in the intelligence division." Asked Rickman as he slowly sat down beside the fire, taking in the warmth.

"Yes. I took a rank reduction so I could join the military; and yes, I was the telepath that was scanning the officer when she died. Luckily, I was trained in protecting my memory . A normal telepath in the same situation as I was then would have needed intense retraining at all levels. That's why they use three telepaths now. One is to scan the accused person and the other two are there to shield and protect the scanning telepath." said Linda, smiling at the memories of her past.

"Well ,Elizabeth, that is worse. Sinclair has changed his mind and wishes to become Human again. We believe it's because of what happened to him and he blames them. There is a box in front of you on the table. I've been ordered to give you that box before you take on your JAG duties. I put that there not long after we came in case you're wondering where it came from." Marshall Rickman said, indicating it with a nod.

Elizabeth walked over to the rather strange looking crystal box and opened it. In it were three envelopes. The first she picked up had "Open me first, Elizabeth" written on it. The others were addressed to JAG Judge Elizabeth Cook and General Sinclair Valen. Elizabeth stared in complete surprise at what she had just read. She leaned in and picked up the envelope marked "read me first" on it.

Dear Elizabeth.

I bet right now you're wondering how on Earth this got here. Well, my old friend, I had help from some very old friends. Don't be shocked by what you read in the other letters, but you must know it's all true and he will come soon for it. I would like you to open that letter only when Sinclair makes up his mind and decides to allow his capture, travel through time and everything else he says is true as well. Just remember that he's still a Human and I'm well aware that we could make him look that way, but he wouldn't be who we see and have grown to know. Trust is very hard to gain. The Minbari trust him to a point where they will eventually follow him and think of him as a spiritual leader. He must change his mind, and he must be willing of his own free will.

Yours.

Antony Bagstaff

"Well people, I so wish I could tell you what is in this letter, but it does revolve around the trial. After the trial you may read it. Until then, it's off limits by Royal decree. Do you both understand what I've just said?"

As if in answer to her query, there was a knock at the door. It made everyone jump and in walked a security officer.

"Your honors ,Sinclair has arrived. Should I inform his guards to bring him up? Also, the Vorlon and Minbari leaders both stand ready in the separate waiting areas."

"It's time, everyone. Make sure we take in everything. It's a shame we just couldn't rip open the Vorlon armor and get the information we wanted that way." Stated Elizabeth.

"Well, Elizabeth, I now see why His Majesty placed you in charge. What you say in the court room goes under Earth Law and if you wish to rip the information from its mind you can do so. But I should warn you that the Guardians will be present and they sent their Leader and the Kirishic Lords will have someone here within a few days." Replied Rickman with a glint of pleasure in his eyes, knowing what fun was going to come and very soon.

All three of the Judges raised themselves from their chairs and started to walk to the door. From behind the closed door they heard the court security officer call the courtroom to order and to rise for the three right honorable judges.

Elizabeth tapped the door to let them know they were ready to come through into the court room. The door swung open gently and the lead judge Elizabeth Cook moved through the door and side stepped straight away to allow Marshall Rickman to take the fore seat. As Rickman walked past Elizabeth, she started to follow him and took the central raised chair. Then finally Commodore Linda Styles came up last , taking the seat to the left of Elizabeth Cook.

Elizabeth coughed to clear her throat. "Now Ladies and Gentlemen, please keep your emotions in control for this, and telepaths ,you have a duty to do so as well. I expect only the best from you all. I also understand that we have the guardians to thank for the Vorlon's encounter suits being disarmed. Now let's get this under way. Bring in the Vorlon known as Zaquash, as we the judges have several questions we have to ask of him."

Zaquash slowly entered the room, passing through the wide wooden doors. As he travelled forward, his head unit on his encounter suit was moving and looking all around the room, taking in everything that was there. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the guardians watching his movements.

The Lead Guardian moved closer to Zaquash. "If I may speak . This Vorlon will not be ripped apart, or I should say its armour ripped open for you to scan. A Vorlon is a very dangerous creature when angry and scared and this creature is both. However, if you can scan them and rip the information out from their minds without my restraints, then you may do so."

Elizabeth smiled back and then started to laugh. "This creature will tell us everything that it knows about this case and why they came and attacked us, why they did what they did to General Sinclair and why they took him back in time."

Zaquash tilted and turned his head and looked at Elizabeth. "Impudent creature... you will not touch the mind of your god."

Elizabeth started to smile and then glanced over at her PSI Guards. "Vorlon, you are not my god. You will tell me everything you know about the matters at hand and you will tell me now."

Zaquash kept on looking at Elizabeth and then started to scream in pain. Zaquash's own legal advisor stood up. "Your Honor , there is no need to torture my client. If I was allowed to speak to him, I would be able to talk him into giving over the information you demand."

Zaquash started to scream even louder after hearing what his human council had just said. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ! YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE INFORMATION YOU DEMAND! YOU WILL HAVE TOOOO...".Screamed Zaquash before he fell silent. Then his head lowered in defeat "You have all the information now... but how could you Humans be strong enough to do what you just did?"

A guardian moved from the cover of an arch and looked at the three judges. "Mayalite, you may speak if you wish to this Vorlon creature and explain the reasons of its mental defense failure." Elizabeth Cook said with a slight smirk forming on her face.

"Zaquash, you have failed in your job. Your job was to teach and protect, but you didn't. The younger races should have been shepherded. I was there. I've seen much in my long life and I know what was done out of fear and from that fear. Life has changed. The journey that was is no longer the path these Humans are on, and only time will tell if they will get back to it. No Race has ever made it back to their starting path once they leave it, as the path back is always hard. It is never easy, but it's always possible." Mayalite moved forward, looking at Zaquash all the time.

"Failure? What failure? We failed no one. We have walked the stars since time began. We visited many worlds and were seen as gods. That is not failure. What you see as failure, we see as advancement. We have to remove the root so the garden can blossom. Darkness walks in many worlds in many ways. The world known as Earth is a prison world for the dark ones. Our sight sees only darkness and war coming out from Earth. We failed no one but those that we couldn't teach and educate back to the path of light." Stated Zaquash, closing his iris, trying to focus on all his remaining mental defenses.

Elizabeth sat in the center chair, looking down at the Vorlon and Mayalite, knowing that there were secrets being talked about and some that even Zaquash didn't have the answers to. She glanced down at table in front of her. "We will have order in this court room. We will have peace if the truth brings dust out of the hidden places. We will get the answers."

Mayalite bowed his head. "You speak wisdom for someone so young, and you understand much. I see how and why your future will change for the better." Silence hung over the court room as they waited to see who would break the it first.

"This Vorlon can not answer the questions about Earth, as it knows nothing much beyond that of its education. The Darkness that Zaquash spoke about is a rather closely guarded secret by the Vorlons. Yes, Earth is home to a secret, but not just one secret is held there. Earth is a central axis point to all that looks to guidance from the young. The Others that follow the ways of the Vorlons and the shadow lead to pain and suffering and will only see death."

Marshall Rickman looked down at his screen, searching for what the telepaths had seen in the Vorlon's mind. To his shock, there was nothing there , apart from information regarding this trial. But there was something this Vorlon wished to hide from the judges.

"Zaquash, I have to ask why you wished to hide your thoughts from us. Some things did slip through to us and what stands is in front of us. Did you ever get warned about this, and did this warning come in the way of General Sinclair after you dragged him through time? I'm sorry, Vorlon, if I come across as a stereotype human idiot. You had hundreds of years to study the files, so why come here when you knew your own fate and the fate of the others? As Sinclair has already informed us, he told you everything personally and we have seen the files from your very own ship. Why come here if you knew you would fail?"

Zaquash turned his head slowly to look at the three judges. His iris opened and closed, and they could tell he was looking for a reasonable explanation, but he knew he failed and would have to admit it. He turned his head to look at Mayalite. "I failed my people and those of light. I couldn't see that the Human tried to help and set us back to the path of light. Failure... I've failed everyone. My sword is no longer my own. My actions have been tainted my fate is in your hands now." Zaquuash stood there awaiting reply, sensing the growing anger and hatred from the Humans and the visitors from the twelve worlds.

"Zaquash, you still haven't answered everything fully, but you still have a choice. As you stand before us , you and the others will be questioned regarding your actions. Guards, you will escort Zaquash to the holding area and bring in the next Vorlon."

Three guards moved forward to surround Zaquash. They unclasped their side arms and then started to move to a side door that was heavily fortified. As they walked to the door, all the safety locks could be heard being released. With each release came a rather loud bang from metal hitting metal.

General Sinclair stood up from his chair and stared at the three judges as Zaquash was being escorted from the room. Zaquash stopped in his tracks, causing his escorts to draw their side arms. Zaquash then turned his head and looked at Sinclair, opened his iris, and then his suit started to hum, which caused more panic from his escorts. "Failed. We have failed. Out of anger from what you said we acted and failed everyone." Then he started to move once more to the door that slid open to see a room of heavily armed soldiers at defense posts.

"Sinclair, you must be seated. You had your chance to ask the questions you had for this Vorlon. Why are you on your feet? We have some extra questions for you, so please stay where you are. General, what we have to ask is did you act for the Vorlons out of blind obedience or from some kind of misplaced loyalty?" Asked Commodore Linda Styles.

"When I went back in time, at first it was both due to what the Minbari had done to me and the trust they had imbedded in me for the Vorlons. It was much later, close to the end of the last great war when I was released from my mental prison." replied Sinclair.

"That's a very strange way to describe what you went through, General ...very interesting. So how did you get released from it? What we know of those Nakaleen feeders is that they will rip every bit of knowledge from their victims' minds unless they get stopped, but in your case, it was a pet variant of that. We have no idea of its victims outcome" asked Marshall Rickman

Mayalite moved forward.

"May I answer that question for Sinclair? I was the one that found him when he was Valen on Minbar during the war. My leaders told me not to change anything until the time line has a chance to correct itself. My people started to watch the others around Valen , and when the war ended and the Minbari turned on him, he feared for his life and the lives of his family members. It was at this point when we acted. We gathered the followers of Valen and told them the truth. They then took Valen to the space station that would be called Babylon 4. They started their journey to this place, but before they left, we unlocked Valen's mind and brought him back to his mental state before the war that was yet to come. As a gift to Sinclair ,we gave him the gift of longevity in the hope that in time he will learn to forgive what has been done to him. Sinclair fought as another before he will get a chance to redeem himself in the future. What and how he redeems himself is for Sinclair to say, not for us." stated Mayalite, turning and heading back to his observation place.

The three judges looked at each other with despair on their faces. Marshall Trance was first to reply to Mayalite. "Mayalite, can I ask on behalf of my fellow judges a very simple question? Why did your people allow this to happen and what is so important with this war from your past and the one yet to come?"

"Despair comes in many shades, and the Human race has many shades to their world. We didn't see how the ancient races turned Earth into a prison but there are many logical reasons." Replied Mayalite.

"Please, can you keep on the subject at the heart of that question? If you can't answer, say so ,and if you won't answer for whatever reason, we need to know" Replied Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry but if I answer, it could cloud your actions and we are here to keep the Vorlons under control. You have no idea what an angry Vorlon could and can do. Your ship's weapons that you used took them by surprise. They crippled them and that made them easier to capture. Be warned, young Human: to each of the first comes a gift and a warning."

Elizabeth was frowning, trying to probe the mind of Mayalite, but found nothing but a dark void with flashes of bright light. Mayalite stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked at Elizabeth. He turned and started heading off, slightly faster than he was before. Elizabeth quickly realized that she had been caught and that Mayalite was a very powerful telepath on a scale unseen been by most life forms she had come across.

"Well, General ,what good did you do when you went back in time?. Did you help them in any way? Did you save lives? If you answer yes to any of those questions, then you need to think about where you need to be and which will be of greater good. We are fully aware of the problems you have had, via your PSI scans you have had. We are deeply sorry for the pains you have gone through. We wish you well. However, on another note, we will have more questions for you. You can mull over those that I have just asked, and General, please try to keep your mind closed. We don't need to get stray emotional thoughts from you that can interfere with our line of questioning."

General Sinclair bowed his head and smiled at Elizabeth in the traditional way of the warrior caste; something Sinclair hadn't done since his return. "I will take into account what you have said, Marshall Cook, and I will see what I can do with my emotions. They are rather intense."

"Good. Is the next person ready to go through yet? I wanted to see the head of the Minbari forces next. I understand that the other Vorlons have taken it as an insult to them. If that's the case, bring me Shai Alyt of the Warrior caste. Yes it is now an insult to the Vorlons. I did want to see the leaders together and Zaquash refused. Now it's the time of questioning, my fellow judges. Make sure you have all the questions you want and make use of what information we got from General Sinclair."

The doors opened and in walked Shai Alyt Branshan, flanked by six heavily armored Passatwar Guards in standard military colors, who had a lot of built up hatred towards the Minbari.

Elizabeth looked rather dismayed at the other two judges, turning first to Commodore Linda Styles and then to Marshall Rickman. "May I ask something of the Passatwar guards? Why have we brought in your services for this trial?".

The Passatwar detail stopped and looked at Elizabeth and then at Branshan. "We have our orders and they came from the Guardians themselves, who have spoken to people from your home world for this honor."

That wasn't the reply they were expecting, but it was a reply all the same. "Honor ? What honor is that, Gentlemen?" Replied Rickman before either of the other judges could reply.

"The honor of serving in the defense of Lord Valen one time only, but we can hope to serve for more adventures. That is what this trial is all for, is it not?"Replied the unnamed Passatwar guard.

"That is a very interesting question and a wise reply." Replied Elizabeth, taking control of that matter, hoping it would bring a swift end to the matter.

"Greetings, Shai Alyt Branshan, and welcome. I will place a wager that you were not expecting a warm greeting from us, even though you have been manhandled by our security forces. For that, I will have to apologize for them, but not today. If you look to your right and look up slightly, you will see a person you should know and I would like you to name him." Stated Elizabeth in a very polite tone. She was trying to calm every one down with it.

Branshan slowly turned his head as instructed, and to his shock ,he saw a figure that to him was long since dead and he was wearing the uniform of the Human military. "VALEN! His name is Valen! He is the greatest of us! He is the one who formed our world the way it is and the Grey Council. Before that was death and civil war among our many clans."

"You're right, Shai Alyt Branshan. He is who you claim he is, but he is actually a Human that was brought back in time to help your people. Partly, this trial is for that and the other is for your actions against Earth Alliance. If you wish to speak to any of the leaders who you fought against the other week, that can be arranged very easily. Shai Alyt, you are talking to one of them now." Stated Elizabeth, with slight pride in her voice, but at the back of her mind there was nothing to take pride in, except defeating a Vorlon fleet.

"Back to the here and now, Branshan. How did you know how to find us and why did you come on this mission? Was it for a military strike or was that option taken from you by the Vorlon called Zaquash?" asked Elizabeth in a calming tone.

"My entire fleet was on a training mission; some in hyperspace and the rest in normal space on routine patrol and training duties. Then my flagship's sensor officer picked up a lot of movement and it was heading into what we call Shadow space. We feared that the Dark Ones had enlisted another race's help and then my government contacted the Vorlons. I was personally surprised that they were willing and ready to send a fleet to help track down these ships. Zaquash was unlike any Vorlon from the past our records stated that he was the one that proved Valen was a traitor and we turned on him."

At this point, Branshan stopped talking and turned to face the one he called Valen. Branshan raised his right arm and uncovered a family crest badge. On closer inspection, they saw it was the badge of Valen's Guard Rangers. Valen had given them to his personal guards and their families during the first great Shadow War.

Sinclair looked at Branshan then again at the badge and stood up " Branshan, you are of the house of Dosh'Zir, or are you not? You are Anla'Shok?"

"Yes, I'm of the House Dosh'Zir, and yes, I was born into the Anla'Shok. Entil'Zha veni ,in Valen's name, it's you. Will you follow me into death? Into storm? Into fire? Into darkness? As we have both learned Branshan, sometimes the universe requires a change of perspective does it not Branshan?"

"Entil'Zha Valen, it's you, is it not? How are you still alive and so far from home and wearing the clothes of their military forces?"

Sinclair just looked at Branshan with a hint of a smug grin on his face, and then he looked over at the three judges to seek permission to explain. Elizabeth smiled in understanding what he was looking for and she nodded, giving him her consent.

"Branshan, if you are who you say you are, prove it. I wish you would answer my questions and tell me if you understand their present meaning. Don't be worried. The answer to that question came to me from sitting here, listening to the events of the courtroom. I will ask them one more time, Branshan Dosh'Zir. Will you follow me into death? Into storm? Into fire? Into darkness?"

"I'm an Anla'Shok. We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass. We live for the One, we die for the One."

"Will you answer the questions? I grow tired of repeating myself; something I'm not in the habit of doing, but on this day I have broken my vow."

"The meaning regards the events what have just happened, Master. We arrived in death, then into storm, then into fire and finally into darkness. We have strayed from your original teachings, but all things must change. Your meaning has changed, but the words remain the same. They can't lose value. Only their meaning changes."

"Hold on, everyone. What has just happened? Why has Branshan understood straight away the underlying meaning to your change of heart? Also, what is the meaning to the words Entil'Zha and Anla'Shok? I would like to understand more of the Minbari language in time. I don't understand that much at the moment." Stated Elizabeth in a very confused tone of voice.

"Entil'Zha, roughly translated in your language, means the Proven One. To gain that title, you must first be Anla'Shok Na. The Na means Ranger One in our language and Anla'Shok means Ranger. I used the term Ranger. I was commander of one of the best Ranger fleets in the Earth Alliance. When I was captured, it stuck."

"As you can clearly see, you have had a direct and indirect effect on many people, Sinclair. In the past and present, only you can see if that's worth your pain and grief. In time, you might see that what you went through was meant to be, and for the overall good. It's not my place to say what you should and shouldn't do, but someone somewhere saw all this coming and trained you with a multi-edged sword line of questions. In their own right, that is strange, but someone somewhere is watching over us, and why ,I don't have the answer." Stated Elizabeth, trying to reassure every one that she understood what was going on fully, even if she didn't.

Elizabeth stood up and cleared her throat "I think it's time for a brief but well- timed recess. Shai Alyt Branshan, it will give you time to think over the actions of your alliance, and if you could have changed what happened."

"May I speak before you leave, your honors? My heart is that of the Anla'Shok. I follow the One, or Valen, if you wish me to use that name. No matter where that will take me, my fellow Minbari will do the same. We live to serve, and we have no higher calling than following the teachings of Valen. Many have walked from the His path, but what we are now is from Valen. If I can speak to my people and tell them that, you will have calm and at the same time unrest. The unrest will only come from those who demand proof that Valen is here. He said we need to work with our other halves and trust other races once more. Before Valen came, we trusted no one; not even our people. By the end of the Great War, we trusted and when Valen left, we fell into our old ways of mistrust."

Elizabeth looked around and looked straight into the eyes of Branshan. "Before we leave for recess, can I ask you a very simple question?. What will you do if Valen, as you call him, walked away from your people and came and served Earth in the hunt for the ancient darkness?"

"I can only speak for myself, but I would join up and follow Valen in any direction he wished us to go, and if that meant dying, then so be it. I will have died with honor, serving the greatest of our people."

Elizabeth smiled back at Branshan. She turned and nodded respectfully at the other JAG judges and headed back to the heavy wooden door that was protecting their chamber.

Once they were in the room, they all surveyed the grand dining room table. It had a spread of food that catered to all their tastes and even had some new local alien luxuries, such as the Spindle Palm. That looked like an Earth pineapple , but had a rather stronger and very sweet taste. Some races couldn't eat them because they were some type of very addictive drug to them, but they were harmless to Humans.

"Well, people, it looks like the good old general is going to have some serious second thoughts. I just have to find the key to help us in our mission. His Majesty wants Sinclair, Valen, or whatever he wants to be called, trained to bring both the Vorlons and the Minbari to our side. We have the Ancients; not to beat them, but to encourage them to leave our galaxy and move on and explore. It's only right that Earth has started to explore other galaxies and well before any of the other younger races. With what we have been taught via the Kirishic Lords, we should have been an older race. If we would have stayed and lasted ,we would never know."

"Bess, you have your work cut out for you to see if you can get him to stay. We can get these Minbari trained for the war we have planned so very long for. Earth will stand. We have no doubt on this, but Sinclair's mind can't be fully kept. Before this trial took place, we were told that if we transform him back to being Human, he will lose what he has become. What he will be is a mystery. We have read the information we have on Valen and that is what we will need. Back home, we have started to create the Special Ranger Force that will be trained to a level none before had ever thought possible. We don't have Rangers in service now and the last ones we had were disbanded over a hundred years ago. Watch this place and we will see just what type of person this General Sinclair is." Stated Rickman, looking directly at Elizabeth.

"It looks like we might have to lean further on this, Sinclair. I noted he was taking in a lot of what we were saying to heart. We must do this via truth. We can't hold back. We have to ask Sinclair. If he remains the way he is, will he stay in the military to help us build and prepare for the coming Shadow war? If he changes his mind and remains on his path to become a Human, what will he do? Will he still help us in the coming war?"

"Come on, please. We should eat and enjoy the wonders of the meals set before us. I can see many wonderful dishes to try." Elizabeth sat down at the head of the table with a sample of her favorite starter: stuffed mushrooms and asparagus, drizzled in a fine white sauce.

After about half an hour of enjoying the fine food and drinks, they still remained sober from the meal, even though all three seemed to be intoxicated from laughter and having fun. There was a sudden knock at the door that brought all three of them back to their normal sober selves within seconds.

Elizabeth walked over to the door and opened it, only to find General Sinclair standing there. "General, what seems to be the trouble?"

"I've come to talk about this trial. I think I would like to have it end as soon as possible on my allegations. I know it seems a strange thing to ask, but if you will hear me out, you will see that I'm thinking of the greater good. These Minbari are not the ones that turned on me. I'm fully aware of what that means, but as you heard in the courtroom, they will follow me as Valen. So with what I know as General Sinclair, I wish to sign a document that allows the Minbari during our war to capture me and all the evens that happened past that."

"Jeff, I think you'd better come in for that chat. We will see what we can arrange for you. You will have to convince us that you're doing this of your own free will. You will have to lower your full PSI barrier to allow us in to search your mind. If you wish to fight us, we can still get the information. I'm rather high on the PSI scale. We all are. The scan you blocked was just a routine surface scan that any telepath should be able to block when they're from the military high command..." Elizabeth stopped mid- sentence to gather her train of thoughts. Then she opened her PSI probe of the General.

"Ouch, your honor! That hurt! I didn't realize you had that much strength in you. I bet you could even scan a Vorlon or any First One with ease." Smiled Sinclair, trying to show how impressed he was of the Marshall's mental strength.

"Vorlons are not that easy to read. They have had many years to learn how to keep their minds from being invaded. Well, I will say this: we three combined couldn't scan Mayalite and he blocked us with much skill as well. Even a full combined mental attack on him from all the telepaths in the room would have failed and it would be like we were brain dead at best." Replied Rickman, smiling as Elizabeth was shaking her head at the image of that in her mind.

"General, take a seat at the table. Get a plate and get something to eat. Explain your reasoning to us so we can say yes or no." requested Commodore Styles with a slight smirk on her face.

"Your honors, I would like you to end the trial so we keep both the Vorlons and Minbari willing to help us. I need to sign a document that will allow the proceedings from this trial to help us all out. The document must be sent to the Vorlons to inform them of this plan and to help save the present way of life by saving the past first." At this point , General Sinclair stopped to look at the three judges whose mental defenses were so strong it burned him if he even looked in their direction.

"You have given us much to think about. You really want to help these Minbari after what they did? For all we know, we could have already had this chat and it's been agreed upon. However, we won't give the information to the Vorlons. We will give it to the Guardians, and they can use it as they see fit. Is that OK with you so far ,General?" asked Elizabeth with a warm smile on her face.

"If you have trouble with that part, then you might have some very serious doubts about the rest of it. I will get both the Minbari and Vorlons to work together and design and build ships for the coming war and use basic Earth tech as well. I will train and build the New Generation of Rangers who will follow my new credo and not the credo from the last Great War. For this to work, you must allow me to remain Human. However, I will have to design an all new uniform for this mixed force. For this to have a better chance to work, we will need to activate the cloning vats and clone extra soldiers and warriors. We have to tell Earth our plans and speak to his Majesty to allow this to happen." said Valen

"We do have Royal Family members here too, and they have been granted all the powers of His Majesty in this Galaxy; all except military. We can go back to Earth and the Tidestone. The new Royal Palace hasn't been fully upgraded to our standards for defence and elegance, but they will be very soon" added Rickman.

"Before we get carried away with other things, Jeff, there is a crystal box on the table in front of you. Open it for me and bring me the two envelopes inside to me, please" requested Elizabeth.

Jeff scanned the table in front of him with his eyes and gazed wonderingly at a many-faceted Minbari styled crystal box. Jeff looked around at everyone and they each knew that he knew what type of box it was.

"Jeff, I guess that you know what that is, my friend" said Elizabeth.

"Yes it's a Minbari data storage box that they use to store ancient hand written documents."

Jeff opened the box and pulled out both letters and straight away saw his name in his hand writing.

"What are you waiting for Jeff? Open it." There were three pages. The first being the contract he wanted, the next was a letter from His Majesty and finally a letter from himself.

"Your honors ,do you know what's in this envelope"? Asked Sinclair

"Negative, son, but I think that letter Marshall Cook is reading explains a lot. You can fill us all in on what they say after you have read them all." Commodore Styles said.

Both Elizabeth and Sinclair both sat quietly, reading the documents. Elizabeth smiled when she glanced down the second letter and saw the signature mark of His Majesty.

"My Dear Elizabeth:

I hereby promote you to the rank of Marshall. With this promotion, you are granted all the benefits and respect of that rank and placement. You are to be the new head of the New Elite Ranger Force and your second in command is the newly promoted Five star General Sinclair, aka Valen. Your new primary goal is to make our home Galaxy ready for war with the Shadows and whatever that war brings out for us to deal with.

Elizabeth, I bet you are reading this in the back room now with the other two JAG judges and Sinclair. If that is so, then we have a chance. I'm aware why Sinclair is there with you all and yes I know that this document has been written for some time now. I think his idea of creating a new force and a new generation of the Anla'Shok that will take in even more of Human traits in battle and in the military in general is a great idea.

Keep peace with the Vorlons. Zaquash is an idiot for a First One. In fact, I would call him a wind bag at best and a sloth at worst. Some Vorlons can be trusted. Watch those that wish you harm. Their mental strength is far weaker, compared to the Guardians.

Elizabeth, please, you must inform Sinclair that he has my full support. If he wishes proof of this, send him to Princess Tzu-Yung Khan. She has a video message from him, dating back to the great Shadow war. Show it to him if he needs reminding of what he left behind. The family of Valen has created their own small territory close to Minbari space and they have a large amount of followers. They regard it as the place where Valen will return some day and with a new army of light. This must happen, for that force will keep the Shadows from moving too fast this time. This end game has been planned, double and triple checked. There are so many variations to counter smaller plans against our home galaxy.

This is why I hand picked you and the others for the JAG team. I knew all of you would find a way to not only touch his Human heart but his Minbari heart as well. The man with the two personas must live, just as the man who has died must also live. Don't worry about the riddles, my friend. Just help Sinclair change the uniforms so they become something different from both Minbari and Earth Military ones.

The Passatwar body armor, for one,would be a good type to copy. It has nanite polycrystalline armor and trillions of overlapping neutrino- sized multi dimensional gravimetric barrier shield generators. This will make the new Rangers able to take direct fire from even Shadow based weapons. The overlap will give more back up and you will need to use the most advanced form of dimensional technology that we can get our hands on.

Elizabeth, the document attached to the other letter is everything that Sinclair wants, but with your change in it. The Vorlons must not know of this massive deception. We will give Sinclair a specialized form of mental protection. It's used by our PSI agents when they go deep undercover so they can do what is needed without discovery. It's our dual mind program. We shield the primary memories, but in Sinclair's case, we would duplicate everything and shield the original version from even Vorlon mind scans.

Jeff has, or should have, read the same letter that you just did. The only difference is the name and who it's for. This part is just for you. Go speak to Umtash. He's their leader, now that he has been proven right. Treat them fairly. They will help with the projects.

Yours,

Antony Bagstaff.

Elizabeth frowned in puzzlement when she read the final part. "Computer, display all information we have on the Vorlon Umtash. That includes the non- critical information as well".

Everyone in the room looked at Elizabeth, all of them being too astonished to try and break her concentration on her problem.

The computer chirped to life and the screen came on. "Marshall Cook, the information you requested is on the screen". The video screen appeared from behind one of the art works on the wall.

The screen came to life with a picture of a Vorlon in a non- altered and battle damaged encounter suit. To the side of the Vorlon was his stats; from his name down to the danger and threat rating he was given. The threat rating was very low for this Vorlon, who actually stopped the other Vorlons from attacking the Human troops who were retrieving the injured and damaged ship sections.

"Well, that looks very interesting. It looks like His Majesty once again is well ahead of everyone and I could swear he knows more than what he has let on. I would give some real serious money for that crystal ball of his to find out how he got that message as well. That's one question I want the answer to". Stated Elizabeth as she realized she had just dropped herself in it, mega style.

"Message? What message? I don't have a message,unless you already have it someplace" asked Sinclair.

"No, my friend. You have been asked if you need more information and support. You have to ask Her Royal Highness, Princess Tzu-Yung Khan. She has a message for you, General, only if you need it. We know what you have said and you have of your own free will. But you have the Royal letter and the terms you would have agreed to. I know I wouldn't have settled for any less than the terms there. It looks like your family line has lived on in part or in full. Can I ask how many children you and your wife had? Who was your wife, if you don't mind me asking?". Asked Elizabeth.

"My, wife was a Human by the name of Catherine Sakai, but she was willing to go through the conversion to a Minbari hybrid as well so she could be with me without persecution. Once she had changed, we had many children. It was a side effect of the change. It increased the number of children she carried per pregnancy. I won't say it didn't hurt, knowing I left them all behind, but we both were given the anti aging vaccination. My beautiful Catherine will be waiting for me with those I left behind. I know I will see them again."

"General, you tried to block us. Why do we see a figure 1569? What's so special about that number? That can't possibly be the amount of children you and your wife had, is it?"

"Yes, that's how many children my wife and I have, and yes, I know it works out to about nine children every seven months. My wife loves children and my followers of Valen hid my darling Catherine away to our secure place that my Rangers found for us."

There was a unexpected knock at the door. General Sinclair, being closest to the door, walked over and opened it. He was greeted by the vision of Princess Tzu-Yung Khan. She was wearing a Chinese gold silk cloak that was draped over a beautiful red silk evening dress with matching red high heel shoes. Her long black hair was shoulder length. The Princess was escorted by her new husband, Marshall Trance, who was in a full dress uniform. It looked like they had been dragged from a party that neither of them was in any rush to get back to. Sinclair jumped to full attention and saluted as both the Princess and Marshall walked in.

"I'm afraid, my angel, I will have to wait outside. I can't look as if I have in any way influenced this trial at this very crucial moment in history. So if you don't mind, my lady". Marshall Trance leaned forward and kissed his lovely wife on the lips and turned and walked back out of the room.

"I'm sorry to arrive without an invite, but what I have to say must be said and that will be to you all in one sitting."

Everyone moved to take a seat around the great table, but they stood waiting for her highness to take her seat first. Once she sat, everyone in the room took their seats as well.

"Now what I'm about to show you all is regarding the mission General Sinclair has already taken so it must happen again if not we will suffer the fate of extinction. Maybe not the Human race but sure enough many more would have suffered the fate of extinction". Tzu-Yung stopped at this point to take in the mood of the room. She looked around and smiled warmly at each of the people in the room, one by one.

"I will continue. General, if you don't go back, you won't have children and I'm sorry you will end up dead. We would not have traveled to this place and sure enough we wouldn't be the leaders of the largest super power in this quadrant. We of the Human race would be slaves to the Centauri as would the survivors of the Minbari who were wiped out nine hundred years ago. All the effects of the last great Shadow war has brought many more races to their knees than what would have if Sinclair hadn't gone."

"It was the arrival of the space station named Babylon 4. The Babylon stations were each one class of stations. In this case, the Aztec version, Babylon 4, hadn't even been designed yet. It was used to travel back in time to help save the Minbari race from being wiped out during the Great War. The effects of you not traveling back in time have been recorded via the station's sensors, so we should be glad you brought her back to us to study." At this point, Tzu-Yung pulled out to small Chinese style wooden box.

"If you need to watch the video footage, then I will save you the time and just tell you. It's file 7032.807. On that file, you'll see Earth just reaching the stars in the year 2049. Within thirty years, we had expanded beyond our solar system and were met by the Centauri, our greatest mistake since dissolving the monarchy in 1978. Antony Bagstaff came to Earth's rescue,only to be imprisoned by the Earth government for breach of his forced abdication. Soon after, the Centauri returned, and this time, they won. Antony was taken back to Centauri Prime and the Earth Alliance was no more. It became the main shipyards for the Centauri. Human women became play toys for the rich and powerful Centauri men, who used them and then flung them to one side like toys. Soldiers raped them in open daylight and in front of their own children. If the husbands were there they would be forced to watch their loved ones raped in front of them as they screamed."

"That, people, is one of the most pleasant scenarios; others become much darker and the crimes go on. Some Centauri houses were better than others, while the worst ones would make the devil look like a saint. If you value your stomachs, you should only watch that one; especially you, Elizabeth. What the Centauri do to you is so cruel and evil it's beyond words. Vlad the Impaler would even blush at what he would see in those files. Judges, what will you be doing about the case? It is clear that Sinclair has chosen to work with the aliens to build the force we need to end this war once and for all. You are aware that the entire trial has finished now and we are here in this room for the verdict. I have to ask again until you make it so clear. I have a message from my Uncle the King, if you would like to see it General. It is for you." Smiled Tzu-Yung, looking at the three Judges.

"I must have your leave, everyone. I have to make a Royal decree to inform our people that General Sinclair wishes the charges to be dropped. All but the head Vorlon Zaquash must suffer a fate that will be suitable to life forms of their type." Tzu-Yung walked to the door, placing a data crystal on the table, smiling as she moved past them.

Elizabeth looked at the data crystal, hoping Sinclair would pick it up. "Well,General, don't make us wait any longer. I'm not known for patience, so please open the message and yes that is an order." Insisted Elizabeth. That brought laughter from the other judges.

"Well, it looks like I don't have any option in that, do I?" asked Sinclair, knowing he was in the losing seat this time.

An image appeared on the video screen. His Majesty was in rather informal attire for his now famous suits and ties. He had a casual white shirt on with the top button unfastened and had he was wearing a pair of denim jeans with a black belt and a gold buckle.

"General, you have just been told the fate of Earth. If you had chosen not to go back, our lives would be different. But what I have to say is thank you, son, for your conviction and going to help us once more. I hope you know your family is a very special one and its linked to me in so many ways. Your ancestors were the very first human clones Earth had given birth to. The male DNA came from myself the female DNA came from a Royal courtier. My Governments both ruled, stating your family line had Royal blood, but claimed that you would have no direct link to the throne ever. I'm sorry, my son, for I wanted your family to be given a title for life. So in this galaxy your family will have a place of power. So,General ,if you will please kneel." At this point, the image looked as if it froze, but the message hadn't frozen. His Majesty stood waiting for the General to kneel.

General Sinclair looked around the room at everyone and smiled, kneeling down in front of the image just as His Majesty started to smile.

"Now, General, that wasn't hard. General Jeffery Sinclair, I hereby place the title of Grand Duke of Tidestone upon you and your heirs. With that you will have the power to raise a personal defence force called the Rangers. These Rangers will have a goal that will be different from those of the Rangers you trained for the Army of light during the Great War. You will have all that you need,but you must seek out Umtash. He will help you." His Majesty stopped talking and turned to look at Jeff.

"There you go, my son. I wish I could do more for your family and fix the injustice that has been done to you and your family. In hurting you, that hurts me and I protect my family with my soul and you can trust me, son. You are family now and always." The image faded away and Jeff's face turned white with what he heard. He tried to stand up, but found that he didn't have any strength in his legs.

"Well, Jeff, it looks like you will have the ability to claim what you need, which will allow us to produce what we need too. In the end ,we all serve His Majesty with unwavering loyalty. With that, we all have the benefits of His Majesty's protection and wisdom when we need it."

Sorry for the delay in this chapter had a lot going on and my next chapter is also ready now.

Thanks to Susan Hilton for making this chapter so readable and for her great work on this story.


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